MANILA: Tourists on the popular Philippine holiday island of Boracay were stranded yesterday after a typhoon swept across on Christmas Day, killing at least 16 people in other parts of the country.
Typhoon Phanfone, with wind gusts reaching 200 kilometres an hour, tore roofs off houses and toppled electric posts as it ripped through the central Philippines on Wednesday.
At least 16 people were killed in villages and towns in the Visayas, the central third of the Philippines, according to disaster agency officials.
Phanfone also hit Boracay, Coron and other holiday destinations that are famed for their white-sand beaches and popular with foreign tourists.
Mobile phone and internet access on Boracay was cut during the storm on Wednesday and the networks remained down yesterday, making assessment of the damage there difficult.
“Still, communication lines are down. Electricity is still down,” Jonathan Pablito, police chief of Malay town in Aklan province, which is on a neighbouring island to Boracay, told AFP.
Pablito said ferry services between Boracay and Aklan — the main way to travel to and from the holiday island — were still not operating yesterday, even though the storm had passed.
The airport at Kalibo town in Aklan, which services Boracay, was badly damaged, according to a Korean tourist who was stranded there and provided images to AFP.
“Roads remain blocked, but some efforts have been made to clear away the damage. It’s pretty bad,” Jung Byung Joon said via Instagram messenger.
Another Korean tourist stuck at the damaged airport said she had been unable to make contact with her friend on Borocay yesterday.
“I tried to call my friend in Boracay today and wasn’t able to get through. Maybe something isn’t working,” Dahae Gong told AFP via Instagram.
Still, there was no indication of any major damage or otherwise on Boracay.
Though much weaker, Phanfone tracked a similar path as Super Typhoon Haiyan — the country’s deadliest storm on record which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.
“It’s like the younger sibling of Haiyan. It’s less destructive, but it followed a similar path,” Cindy Ferrer, an information officer at the Western Visayas region’s disaster bureau, told AFP.
Tens of thousands of people in the mostly Catholic nation had been forced to evacuate their homes on Wednesday, ruining Christmas celebrations.
Many others were not able to return to their families, with ferries and plane services suspended.
Among those killed Phanfone was a police officer who was electrocuted by a toppled post while patrolling. – AFP
