More than 70,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes as forecasters warn of heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge.
Published November 3, 2025
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas of the eastern Philippines ahead of Typhoon Karmaegi’s expected landfall.
Forecasters said the center of the storm is expected to make landfall on Monday, warning of heavy rain, storm surge of up to 3 meters (10 feet) and wind gusts of up to 150 km/hour (93 mph).
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More than 70,000 people in the coastal cities of Guiuan and Salcedo on Samar Island and Mercedes in Camarines Norte province were ordered to move to evacuation centers or buildings certified as strong enough to withstand the impact of the typhoon. Authorities also banned fishermen from venturing into the waters of the Middle East region.
The storm is expected to make landfall in Guiuan or nearby municipalities.
Giwan is not immune to typhoons. In November 2013, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones on record made landfall in the Philippines, causing significant damage. The storm left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and more than 4 million people displaced.
human climate change
Karmaegi is expected to move westward overnight and reach the central island provinces on Tuesday. This includes Cebu, which is still recovering from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in September.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, and scientists warn that typhoons and storms are becoming more powerful due to human-induced climate change.
The archipelago was hit by two major storms in September, including super typhoon Lagasa, which toppled trees, tore roofs off buildings and killed 14 people in neighboring Taiwan.
The Philippines is regularly hit by earthquakes and home to more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
