Super Typhoon Fung-Wong made landfall in Aurora Province in the eastern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines on Sunday night, according to the state weather bureau.
The bureau reported that the Category 5 typhoon hit the municipality of Dinalungan around 21:10 local time (1310 GMT) on Sunday.
In Baler, the capital of Aurora Province, about 70 kilometers from the typhoon's landfall site, conditions remained severe despite winds moderating after landfall.
Enormous waves continued to pound the shoreline, with the roar of the sea audible throughout the coastal town.
The entire town of Baler experienced a complete power outage, forcing some hotels to rely on generators. One coastal hotel sustained extensive damage as seawater and sediment flooded its lobby, while parts of the roof were torn away, allowing rainwater to pour into the building.
The Philippine Office of Civil Defense reported that approximately 1.1 million residents had been evacuated from high-risk areas by Sunday afternoon in preparation for the typhoon's arrival.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the super typhoon had already claimed at least one life before making landfall.
Typhoon Fung-Wong is the 21st to hit the Philippines this year, surpassing the country's annual average of 20 storms.
Super Typhoon Fung-Wong makes landfall in Philippines
The operational efficiency of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in south China's Guangdong Province has greatly improved following the launch of a new terminal and a new runway one month ago.
The airport officially put into operation its Terminal 3 and fifth runway on October 30, making it China's first civil airport to operate five commercial runways.
Terminal 3 features a range of self-service facilities, including check-in kiosks, automated baggage drop systems, and smart security screening equipment, which have greatly streamlined passenger processing.
Since its opening, five airlines have shifted their domestic operations to Terminal 3, which now handles an average of 158 flights and about 26,000 passengers daily.
"Compared with Terminal 1, both the number of staffed counters and self-service kiosks of Terminal 3 have increased significantly, greatly reducing the average check-in time for passengers. For domestic direct flights, the entire check-in process can be completed in a minimum of one minute," said Shi Mengyao, a staffer with the ground service department of the Guangdong branch of China Eastern Airlines.
Beyond efficiency improvements, the terminal also includes an observation deck that offers travelers panoramic views of the airfield.
"Since its opening, the observation deck attracts over 3,000 visitors per day on average, with total visits exceeding 100,000 to date," said Luo Li, deputy general manager of a terminal management company at Baiyun International Airport.
The airport's expansion also marks another step toward building a world-class airport cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
"The airport's expansion not only consolidates the Greater Bay Area as an aviation hub connecting China with the world, but also helps lower logistics costs within the area, promote the free flow and efficient allocation of economic resources, and enhances the area's capacity for global resource allocation," said Li Jing, chief planner with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Transport.
New terminal, runway boost operational efficiency of airport in Guangzhou
