The world's strongest storm this year slammed into the eastern part of the Philippines on Sunday with catastrophic violent winds making it to be the hardest landfall on record, a Bloomberg report said.
"Catastrophic violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eyewall and inner rainbands of the typhoon is prevailing or expected within the next 12 hours," according to the 8 a.m. advisory. "This a particularly dangerous situation," the advisory added.
Super Typhoon Goni first hit land before dawn Sunday over Catanduanes province, and subsequently pummeled Albay, according to the weather bureau. It's expected to cross the southern Luzon and Metro Manila area from the afternoon before exiting land this evening or Monday, bringing intense rain to the capital, it said.
"Goni is the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone" in history, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections and co-founder of Weather Underground.
Authorities will shut Manila's international airport to all flights for 24 hours from 10 a.m. local time Sunday as Goni approaches, the Manila International Airport Authority said on its website. Flag carrier Philippine Airlines canceled 20 international and 25 domestic flights for Sunday and Monday, according to its advisory.
Nearly 800,000 people have fled their homes in Albay province in the main Luzon island, while 200,000 more have been evacuated in nearby provinces, Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the Philippines' disaster risk-monitoring agency said.
