Typhoon Maysak melts away as it hits Philippines

Filipinos flock to the Manila Bay area for a swim despite the government's health warnings, as they mark Easter Sunday at Manila Bay on April 5, 2015. Tropical storm Maysak fizzled on Sunday as it made landfall over the Philippines' north-eastern coast, where more than 2,000 people who had fled to safer ground began to return home. Ritchie B Tongo/EPAShow less

BALER, PHILIPPINES // A super typhoon dissolved into a tropical depression and made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday easing fears after thousands of residents fled remote coastal villages to avoid potential giant waves.

Maysak, which began as a Super Typhoon in the Pacific Ocean, reached the north-east coast of the main island of Luzon at 8am local time with winds of 55 kilometres per hour, chief state weather forecaster Esperanza Cayanan said.

“As of now, most of our fears have melted away,” she said shortly after the depression reached Dinapigue, a remote town on Luzon’s north-east coast, about 250 kilometres from Manila.

The government had evacuated more than 25,000 people from coastal villages in the region, while police drove away thousands of tourists from beaches on nearby Aurora province as a precaution against potential tsunami-like waves known as storm surges.

The tourists, many of whom had come from Manila and nearby areas to enjoy the long Easter holidays in the mainly Catholic nation, breathed a sigh of relief and dived back into the still choppy waters on Easter Sunday.

“We made a calculated risk [that Maysak would dissipate] and we got lucky. Prayers also helped,” Manila-based television producer Rona Agtay, 39, said as she hit the surf.

State weather forecaster Shelly Ignacio said the super typhoon met unfavourable atmospheric conditions as it approached land, causing the storm system to dissipate dramatically overnight on Saturday.

At its current strength, Maysak can break tree branches and may take the roofs off houses made of light materials, while sea travel remains risky for small boats, the state weather service said.

“We expect this system to melt away as it crosses the mountains, although there is a small possibility it could survive by the time it hits the [South China Sea] water tomorrow,” she added.

More than 500 boats were also ordered to remain at port in the region, while 10 domestic flights suspended.

With the improving conditions, local officials will now make the call on when to send the evacuees back home, civil defence director Alexander Pama said.

“We had not received any reports of casualties,” Mr Pama added.

About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year, many of them deadly, but rarely hit in April.

Storm surges caused many of the fatalities when Super Typhoon Haiyan smashed onto the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,350 people dead or missing.

* Agence France-Presse