About 1.1 million residents had been evacuated before Super Typhoon Fung-Wong made landfall over Aurora Province in the eastern part of Luzon Island of the Philippines on Sunday night.
The state weather bureau reported that the Category 5 typhoon hit the municipality of Dinalungan around 21:10 local time (13:10 GMT) on Sunday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on Sunday afternoon that the super typhoon was expected to bring life-threatening rainstorms, with waves reaching up to 14 meters in affected coastal areas.
About 1.1 million people had been evacuated as of Sunday afternoon for safety concerns. All schools and government offices on Luzon Island were ordered to close on Monday, and about 400 flights were canceled.
At around 17:00 on Sunday, in Baler, the capital of Aurora Province, coastal residents had already been evacuated. Local authorities instructed residents to stay indoors to minimize potential casualties.
In Baler's Buhangin Barangay, one of the areas closest to the coast, the village government building was converted into a temporary shelter for nearby residents.
"We visited the villagers' homes yesterday to warn them that the storm would be extremely dangerous and powerful. If they refuse to evacuate, we will enforce mandatory evacuation measures," said Edgardo Soriano, captain of Barangay Buhangin.
"We are very scared because we live by the coast, and our house is made of light materials that could be washed away by flooding. That would be dangerous for our children. We came here for their safety. In a disaster like this, there's no other choice," said Cristina Tayoto, a local resident.
To mitigate the typhoon's impact, power supply across Baler had been completely cut off.
According to Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Typhoon Fung-Wong will affect 54 provinces across the country, putting about 5.7 million coastal residents at risk.
1.1 million residents evacuated before Super Typhoon Fung-Wong hits Philippines
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has withdrawn from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to secure its greater crude oil pricing autonomy and show its dissatisfaction with neighboring Arab states over their failure to condemn Iran's attacks on it, a Chinese expert on the Middle East said.
On Tuesday, the UAE announced it would withdraw from OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, effective May 1. The move removes the bloc's third-largest oil producer and further weakens its influence over global oil supplies and prices.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Wang Jin, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Northwest University in China, noted that disagreements over global energy pricing between the UAE and other OPEC members prompted the exit, as the country seeks greater autonomy over its crude oil exports.
"There are divergent views between the UAE and members of the OPEC or the broader OPEC+ alliance regarding international energy pricing. According to Saudi Arabian assessments, a price range of 80 to 90 U.S. dollars per barrel aligns with their national interests. However, the UAE tends to believe that a price of around 50 U.S. dollars per barrel is sufficient to meet its essential economic needs. Consequently, the UAE seeks to exit these mechanisms to gain more leverage over pricing and bolster its autonomy in global oil exports," Wang said.
Beyond economic disputes, Wang noted that the decision also stems from the UAE's dissatisfaction with regional neighbors, who failed to provide sufficient support to the UAE -- the most targeted Gulf nation by Iranian strikes -- during the recent tensions in the Middle East.
"The UAE harbors deep dissatisfaction with current regional policies. After the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran, the UAE has, in fact, been the most targeted Gulf nation by Iranian attacks. From the UAE's perspective, neighboring Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have failed to offer sufficient support for it or issue more vocal condemnations of Iran's actions. This lack of support has fueled the UAE's significant resentment. Furthermore, as Iran itself is a member of both OPEC and OPEC+ alliance, the UAE is inclined to use its withdrawal from these mechanisms to demonstrate dissatisfaction over the regional status quo," he said.
UAE quits OPEC for pricing autonomy amid regional tensions: Chinese expert
