Over 5,000 flee homes as storm Dujuan hits southern Philippines

More than 5,000 people had to evacuate to temporary shelters in the southern Philippines as tropical storm Dujuan brought heavy rains, submerging dozens of villages, according to the country’s disaster risk reduction and management agency.

A woman wades through muddy floodwater following Typhoon Vamco, in San Mateo, Rizal province, Philippines in November last year. 

The agency said in its initial report that two regions were hit by the storm, including the country’s nickel mining hub of Caraga, and the province of Surigao del Sur.

The bad weather also prompted the cancellation of at least 36 domestic flights.

Heavy rains were expected to continue over Caraga and several other provinces on February 22 morning when Dujuan was forecast to hit the Dinagat Islands-Eastern Samar-Leyte area.

Packing maximum winds of 65kms per hour and gusts of up to 80 km per hour, Dujuan is the first storm to hit the Philippines this year.

The Southeast Asian archipelago sees around 20 tropical storms annually./.

VNA