Relief in Philippines as Typhoon Maysak melts away into tropical depression
A super typhoon dissolved into a tropical depression and made landfall in the Philippines yesterday, forecasters said, easing fears after thousands of residents fled remote coastal villages to avoid potential giant waves.
Maysak, which began as a super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean, reached the northeast coast of the main island of Luzon at 8am with winds of 55km/h.
"As of now, most of our fears have melted away," said chief state weather forecaster Esperanza Cayanan shortly after the depression reached Dinapigue, a remote town on Luzon's northeast coast, about 250km from Manila.
The government had evacuated more than 25,000 people from coastal villages in the region, while police drove away thousands of tourists from beaches on nearby Aurora province as a precaution against potential tsunami-like waves known as storm surges.
The tourists, many of whom had come from Manila and nearby areas to enjoy the long Easter holidays, breathed a sigh of relief and dived back into the still choppy waters on Easter Sunday.
"We made a calculated risk [that Maysak would dissipate] and we got lucky. Prayers also helped," Manila-based television producer Rona Agtay, 39, said.
State weather forecaster Shelly Ignacio said the super typhoon met unfavourable atmospheric conditions as it approached land, causing the storm system to dissipate dramatically overnight on Saturday.
At its current strength, Maysak can break tree branches and may take the roofs off houses made of light materials, while sea travel remains risky for small boats, the state weather service said in its latest bulletin.
"We expect this system to melt away as it crosses the mountains, although there is a small possibility it could survive by the time it hits the water [South China Sea] tomorrow," Ignacio said.
