MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

What is super typhoon Goni? Mark Ruffalo urges people to pray and send help as disaster rocks the Philippines

Typhoon Goni is the world's strongest storm so far this year that slammed into the eastern part of the Philippines

‘The Avengers’ actor Mark Ruffalo reacted to a tweet that concerned the approaching super typhoon Goni into the Philippines writing, “Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Philippines then get ready to send donations.” The tweet he reacted to said, “Super Typhoon Goni is about to slam into the Philippines as about as strong of a storm as the planet can produce. If it landfalls at its current strength (195 mph with gusts to 235 mph!!) it will be the most powerful tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in world history."

Typhoon Goni slammed into the eastern part of the Philippines on November 1, bringing “catastrophic violent winds” in what weather experts say is set to be the hardest landfall on record, gaining further strength with 225 kph (140 miles per hour) sustained winds and gusts of up to 310 kph (190 mph). The super typhoon barrelled into the southern part of the Philippines' main island of Luzon and there have been two landfalls so far, the weather bureau said. The capital Manila was also in the projected path of Goni, the 18th tropical storm in the country.

“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 weather bureau. “This is a particularly dangerous situation.” A third landfall was expected to hit Quezon province later in the day, weather forecaster Lorie de la Cruz told a radio station.

Between 19 million and 31 million people could be affected, including those in danger zones, the disaster management agency said. Storm surge alerts have been issued, while officials have also reminded those in evacuation centers to observe social distancing as the coronavirus spread is also a concern. Authorities will shut Manila’s international airport to all flights for 24 hours from 10 am local time on November 1 as Goni approaches, the Manila International Airport Authority said on its website. The capital, along with other areas, will face “heavy to intense, with at times torrential rains,” according to the advisory for the storm.

An average of 20 cyclones pass through disaster-prone Philippines every year, which will likely complicate the nation’s fight against the coronavirus as hundreds of thousands of people are evacuated from typhoon-hit areas. In 2013, Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons recorded, struck the southeast Asian nation and killed more than 6,300 people.

Coconut, rice and corn plantations may suffer severe losses. Typhoon Goni could damage more than 928,000 hectares of land planted with rice and 58,431 hectares of corn, the Department of Agriculture estimates. The storm can have a “high humanitarian impact,” the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System said on its website, adding that nearly 50 million people are at risk. Another typhoon, Atsani, is forecast to enter Philippine territory also on November 1 but is less likely to bring severe weather over the next three days, according to the nation’s weather forecaster.