TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — Super Typhoon Uwan unleashed its fury on Eastern Visayas on Sunday, November 9, displacing 18,959 families, or 63,826 people, according to a progress report released by the Regional Police Bureau (PRO-8).
Local government units across the region conducted preemptive evacuations, moving residents to designated evacuation centers in an effort to prevent casualties as the typhoon battered the region with powerful winds and torrential rains.
According to PRO-8 monitoring, Northern Samar recorded the largest number of evacuees with 5,289 families (17,525 people), followed by Southern Leyte with 4,367 families (14,055 people). Biliran, 3,901 families (12,845 people); Eastern Samar, 2,632 families (8,688 people); Samar, 2,508 families (10,208 people); and Leyte, 262 families (505 people).
In Eastern Samar, Borongan Cathedral was opened to shelter evacuees seeking refuge from the storm.
Widespread flooding was reported in several locations, including Jipapad, Arteche, and Borongan City in Eastern Samar, and Daram, Paranas, Jiabong, and Catbalogan City in Samar, where a section of the city’s seawall was damaged.
The roof of a covered court in Barangay Payao, Catbalogan City, was also torn off by the wind, while several fishing boats in the same coastal area were destroyed.
An undetermined number of homes—mostly constructed of lightweight materials—were damaged or destroyed in San Sebastian (Samar), Villaba and Baybay (Leyte), and Naval (Biliran). In northern Samar, damage was also reported to several houses in Laoang and Catarman.
In Mapanas, in northern Samar, a concrete footbridge leading to the popular Blue Lagoon tourist attraction was washed away by the typhoon’s strong currents.
Typhoon Uwan also uprooted trees and downed power lines, causing widespread power outages across the region. The National Network Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) confirmed that several areas of Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar were left without electricity after the typhoon.
Typhoon Uwan downed power and communication lines and displaced more than 63,000 people in Eastern Visayas.
A section of the seawall in the city of Catbalogan, Samar, was damaged after Typhoon Uwan passed through. —Photo courtesy of Master Inchek
