Manila: Tens of thousands of people were forced into cramped shelters by the powerful storm pounding the Philippines on Friday, making social distancing nearly impossible as the nation battles the coronavirus pandemic.
Typhoon Vongfong flattened flimsy coastal homes when it roared ashore on central Samar island on Thursday, but then weakened into a severe tropical storm on its path north to the capital Manila.
The storm hit as tens of millions of Filipinos are hunkered down at home against the coronavirus, but at least 141,700 had to flee in central Bicol province because of the powerful storm, disaster officials said.
