Typhoon Fung-Wong Bears Down on Philippines While Kalmaegi Batters Vietnam

Typhoon Fung-Wong is already gearing up for landfall in the Philippines, just one week after the devastating Typhoon Kalmaegi that continues to batter Vietnam.

Fung-Wong, colloquially known as Typhoon Uwan, began as a tropical depression in the western Pacific before slowly strengthening as it moved westward at a rapid pace. Over the past few days, the typhoon underwent a process known as rapid intensification, where a tropical storm increases wind speeds by 35 or more miles per hour in 24 hours or less.

Now, Fung-Wong is bearing down on the north and eastern sides of the Philippines, packing winds of over 110 mph and heavy rain. The storm brushed past the eastern Philippine province of Eastern Visayas last night before moving farther north, and it is now making landfall on the northernmost island of Luzon.

Luzon is the largest island in the archipelago and maintains a population of a staggering 64.3 million people– over half of the Philippines' total population. The isle is home to mountain ranges, beautiful beaches, and the two largest Philippine cities of Quezon City and the capital of Manila.

Ahead of the typhoon's landfall, over 100,000 people have been evacuated and a Signal 5 warning has been issued for the entire country– the nation's highest storm warning. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, schools have been shut down, and people have secured their homes to prevent flooding and storm surge.

This comes just after Visayas, the middle third of the Philippines, was just thrashed by Typhoon Kalmaegi, killing over 200 people. Winds of around 105 mph impacted the region, along with heavy rain and storm surge that led to serious flooding and landslides. Then, the system restrengthened and headed towards Vietnam, where it made landfall several days ago and has now fizzled out– it did drop heavy rain and bring strong winds to the region, though, killing five people.

However, the Philippines is no stranger to typhoons. Due to the archipelago's location in the western Pacific, it is especially prone to being hit by tropical systems, and the process is only worsening as climate change continues to warm the Earth. Fung-Wong is the 21st tropical system to directly impact the Philippines in 2025, putting them slightly above their average typhoon season number of 20 storms per year.

Now, Fung-Wong will continue through Luzon before curving back away from China; the typhoon is expected to restrengthen slightly over the South China Sea before making landfall in Taiwan.

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Image credit to NOAA