As Super Typhoon Fung-wong thundered ashore on Sunday night, November 9, 2025, the Philippines found itself once again at the mercy of nature’s fury. The storm, with a radius so vast it spanned nearly the entire archipelago, made landfall in Aurora province on the main island of Luzon at 9:10pm local time, unleashing a barrage of heavy rain and wind that would test the resilience of millions.
According to the Philippine state weather bureau PAGASA, Fung-wong arrived with sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (115 mph) and gusts reaching up to a harrowing 230 km/h (140 mph). The storm, locally known as Uwan, was so immense that its rain and wind bands threatened to blanket two-thirds of the country, as reported by The Independent.
In the days leading up to landfall, the government ordered the evacuation of more than one million people from coastal and low-lying areas most at risk of flooding and landslides. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. warned in televised remarks about the storm’s potentially catastrophic impact, urging residents to heed evacuation orders. “We need to do this because when it’s already raining or the typhoon has hit and flooding has started, it’s hard to rescue people,” he emphasized.
Many heeded the call. In Isabela, in northern Luzon, families gathered in basketball courts repurposed as evacuation centers. Christopher Sanchez, who fled with his family, told Reuters, “We heard on the news that the typhoon is very strong, so we evacuated early. We left our things on the roofs of our house since every time there’s a storm, we come here because we live right next to the river. In previous storms, the floodwaters rose above human height. We’re scared. We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”
Still, the storm claimed lives. At least two people were killed: one drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes, and another—a 64-year-old woman attempting to evacuate—was found trapped under debris in Catbalogan City, according to the Office of Civil Defence and AFP reports. Power outages quickly swept large swathes of the Bicol region and parts of Eastern Visayas, while footage from the Philippine Coast Guard showed residents in Camarines Sur boarding trucks during the mass evacuations.
More than 300 domestic and international flights were canceled as airports in the Bicol region and Metro Manila, including Bicol International Airport and Sangley, temporarily closed for safety reasons. Storm warnings were raised across Luzon, with the highest and second-highest alert levels in place, while Metro Manila and nearby provinces remained at level 3, as detailed by AFP.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national emergency, a move reflecting both the immediate threat of Fung-wong and the lingering devastation from Typhoon Kalmaegi just days earlier. Kalmaegi, which struck in early November, killed 204 people in the Philippines and at least five in Vietnam before moving on to Cambodia. The storm left more than half a million Filipinos displaced, with nearly 450,000 seeking refuge in evacuation centers or with relatives. In Vietnam, the damage was severe: over 2,600 homes destroyed or damaged, power cut to more than 1.6 million households, and more than half a million people evacuated, according to state media cited by AFP.
As Fung-wong battered Luzon, the country’s weather bureau warned of “destructive Typhoon-force winds” in northern and central Luzon and “extreme impacts” expected along the storm’s path. The risk of coastal flooding and storm surges—described as a tsunami-like rise in sea level due to wind and atmospheric pressure—was high. PAGASA’s bulletin cautioned: “There is a high risk of life-threatening and damaging storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3.0 meters within the next 48 hours over the low-lying or exposed coastal communities of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Bicol Region, most of MIMAROPA, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands, and most of Zamboanga Peninsula.”
The scale of the threat was not lost on disaster officials. The Office of Civil Defence estimated that more than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong. The storm’s path was projected to take it northwest on Monday, November 10, then north on Tuesday, November 11, maintaining typhoon strength. By Wednesday, November 12, forecasts indicated Fung-wong would move toward the Taiwan Strait, weakening before landfall in western Taiwan on Thursday, November 13, and then rapidly losing strength near the Ryukyu Islands.
For the Philippines, this was the 21st storm of the year—already exceeding the national average of about 20 storms annually. The country’s geography, sitting squarely in the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, makes it one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, subject to not only storms, but also earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
But there’s a deeper concern. Climate experts warn that storms like Fung-wong and Kalmaegi are becoming stronger and more frequent due to climate change. As AFP and The Independent both reported, scientists caution that warming oceans and shifting weather patterns are fueling more powerful typhoons, putting greater numbers of people at risk across Southeast Asia.
In the aftermath of Kalmaegi, residents in affected towns like Quy Nhon in Vietnam emerged to find metal roofs and furniture scattered across streets, and shopkeepers laying out soaked goods to dry. The scars of that storm were still fresh as Fung-wong bore down, a one-two punch that left many communities reeling.
For now, the focus remains on survival and recovery. The government’s swift evacuation efforts, the closure of airports, and the deployment of emergency services have undoubtedly saved lives. Yet, as families huddle in evacuation centers and officials brace for the typhoon’s next move, there’s a sense that these storms are not just natural disasters, but a warning of the new normal in a changing climate.
In the coming days, as Fung-wong moves on toward Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, the Philippines will begin to assess the full extent of the damage. But for millions, the memory of this storm—and the fear of the next—will linger long after the winds have died down.
