MORE than a million people were evacuated, and at least one person was killed, as floodwaters rose in the Philippines on Sunday before Super Typhoon Uwan's expected landfall on the east coast.
The super typhoon, which comes just days after another storm ravaged the country, had a radius spanning nearly the whole of the Philippines.
On Sunday, one of the already storm-stricken provinces in the central Philippines recorded the first known death from Uwan.
Rescuer Juniel Tagarino in Catbalogan City told Agence France-Presse the body of a 64-year-old woman attempting to evacuate had been pulled from under debris and fallen trees.
Schools and government offices were ordered closed Monday across Luzon, including Metro Manila, where nearly 300 flights have so far been canceled.
The island province of Catanduanes, directly in the path of Uwan, was lashed by wind and rain early Sunday, with storm surges sending waves hurtling over streets along the coast and floodwaters rising in some areas.
"As we speak, they are feeling the impact of the typhoon, especially in Catanduanes, because the storm's eye is closest there," Office of Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Rafaelito Alejandro said at a press briefing, adding that 916,863 people had been evacuated nationwide.
Video verified by Agence France-Presse showed a church in Virac town surrounded by floodwaters that reached halfway up its entrance.
In its 5 p.m. advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Uwan had maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
In Guinobatan, a town of about 80,000 in Albay province, video showed streets that had become a raging torrent of floodwaters.
The super typhoon was expected to bring about 200 millimeters or more rain in many places.
Only days earlier, Typhoon Tino sent floodwaters rushing through the towns and cities of Cebu and Negros islands, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and massive shipping containers.
The typhoon, the deadliest in 2025 according to disaster database EM-DAT, killed at least 224 people and left 109 missing, according to government figures updated Sunday morning.
A number of commercial buildings and the road leading to Catbalogan were washed out and damaged by the strong winds.
In Catarman, Northern Samar, huge waves forced hundreds of residents from the coastal barangay of Baybay to leave their homes.
In the island town of Laoang, Northern Samar, villagers fleeing from storm surges sought shelter in the parish church.
In Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Mayor Benjamin Ver reported that floods forced a number of residents out of their homes.
The Office of Civil Defense said 315,835 families -- or 1,083,289 individuals -- had been evacuated to safer areas. With WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL and Franco Jose C. Baroña