Overall Red alert Tropical Cyclone for VONGFONG-20
in Philippines

Event summary

Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG-20 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the maximum sustained wind speed, exposed population and vulnerability.

GDACS ID TC 1000666
Name VONGFONG-20
From - To 11 May - 16 May
Exposed countries Philippines
Exposed population 2 million in Category 1 or higher
Maximum wind speed 194 km/h Category 3
Maximum storm surge 0.6 m (14 May 10:00 UTC)
Vulnerability Medium (Philippines)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
Wind Storm surge Rainfall GDACS score
GDACS JTWC 46 km/h 0.6 m n.a. 0.5
Single TC: maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge, rainfall)
HWRF 216 km/h 1.7 m 647 mm 2.5
GFS 263 km/h 0.8 m 476 mm 2.5
ECMWF 104 km/h 0.5 m 436 mm 0.5
Maximum expected impact (wind, storm surge and rainfall) using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Philippines - Tropical cyclone ONE (ECHO 12 May 2020)Tue, 12 May 2020 13:06

  • On 12 May, Tropical Cyclone ONE, locally known as AMBO, formed over the Philippine Sea and is moving north, towards the Philippines. On 12 May at 0.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 300 km east of Siargao Island (Surigao del Norte Province), with maximum sustained winds of 56 km/h (Tropical Depression).
  • Over the next 24 hours, ONE is expected to strengthen, moving further north-west over the Philippine Sea, with maximum sustained winds up to 83 km/h (Tropical Storm).
  • Moderate to heavy rain, with thunderstorms are forecast over Mindanao on 12-13 May. 
Philippines - Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG Wed, 13 May 2020 12:08

  • Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG (AMBO in the Philippines) is moving west-northwest over the Philippine Sea, towards the northeastern area of Luzon (northern Philippines). On 13 May at 0.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 380 km east of Borongan City (Eastern Visayas Region, Samar Island), with maximum sustained winds of 111 km/h (tropical storm).
  • VONGFONG will continue moving north-west towards eastern Luzon, strengthening, and it is expected to make landfall on 15 May over Catanduanes Island with maximum sustained winds up to 180 km/h.
  • Moderate to heavy rainfall with thunderstorms and strong winds are forecast for Eastern Visayas Region, Catanduanes Island and the Provinces of Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate on 13-14 May.
Philippines - Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG update Thu, 14 May 2020 13:06

  • Tropical Cyclone (TC) VONGFONG is moving west in the Philippine Sea, towards the eastern coast of Samar Island (Eastern Visayas Region). On 14 May at 0.00 UTC, its centre was approximately 75 km east of San Policarpo Municipality (Eastern Samar Province), with maximum sustained winds of 176 km/h (Category 2).
  • TC VONGFONG is expected to make landfall in the morning of 14 May over Eastern Samar Province, as a Category 2 Tropical Cyclone, with maximum sustained winds between 157-176 km/h.
  • National authorities have undertaken disaster preparedness activities, in order to assist the local population. Category 3 (out of 3) Tropical Cyclone warnings have been issued for Eastern Visayas, and Bicol regions.
  • Strom surge could affect the coastal areas Eastern Visayas, and Bicol, while heavy to very heavy rainfall is forecast over the same area on 14-15 May.
Philippines - Typhoon VONGFONG Fri, 15 May 2020 13:03

  • Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG (AMBO in The Philippines) is moving north-west towards Quezon Province after it moved over Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions, reaching Calabarzon. On 15 May at 0.00 UTC, its centre was located close to San Andres Municipality (Quezon Province), with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h.
  • According to media reports, as of 15 May, at least 150,000 people have been displaced in Bicol region with 515 evacuated families from the towns of Maninila, Tandarora, and Muladbucad Grande (Albay Province).
  • VONGFONG is forecast to move north-west, weakening, before making landfall over the Bondoc Peninsula close to San Andres Municipality with maximum sustained winds up to 110 km/h.
  • A Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal no.3 is in effect across several parts of Luzon, Visayas Bicol ans National Capital Region. Extreme flood advisories have been issued for Bicol and Eastern Visayas while severe flood advisories for Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Occidental Mindoro.
  • On 15-16 May, heavy rain and strong winds are forecast over Bicol Region, Quezon, Aurora, Marinduque, Laguna, Rizal, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, Aurora, and Nueva Ecija. Storm surge could affect Bicol Region, Quezon and Aurora.
  • Initial reports from humanitarian agencies on the ground include disruption of road access due to fallen trees and other destruction, power and communication network outage, and shortage of sanitation supplies and sleeping materials in some evacuation centres. Impact is still generally unknown as most areas are still currently under the typhoon.
Philippines - Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG update (ECHO 18 May 2020)Mon, 18 May 2020 13:06

  • Following the passage of Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG over Visayas, Bicol, and Luzon islands (central-eastern, and northern Philippine), casualties have been reported.
  • According to national authorities, 54 people were injured in Central Luzon, and Eastern Visayas regions, and more than 82,560 people were affected across eight Provinces of Calabazon, Eastern Visayas, and Cordillera Administrative Region. Damage was reported to 75 schools, 9 hospital facilities, and road infrastructure, including one bridge and 2 road sections, power outages occurred.
  • Most affected are the areas of Eastern Visayas and Bicol Regions. Around 70,000 people (18,780 families) have been pre-emptively evacuated. Most of them have returned to fix their houses. Exact information on displacement and damage is still being collected by local government units.
  • The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has activated its inter-regional relief assistance wherein 1,200 family food packs from Cebu City were sent to Northern Samar.
  • On 18-19 May, moderate rain accompanied with thunderstorms are expected over central Philippines, and moderate to strong winds are forecast for Northern Luzon Region.
Philippines - Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG update (ECHO 19 May 2020)Tue, 19 May 2020 13:09

  • According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), the number of affected people from Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG has increased to 218,400 across 36 provinces of the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Cordillera Administrative Regions. 
  • The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is providing help to the most affected parts of the country, notably with Family Food Packs (FFPs). All temporary evacuation centres have now been closed. 
  • For the next 24 hours, moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected in most parts of the country, particularly the National Capital Region.
Philippines - Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG update Wed, 20 May 2020 13:04

  • 366,434 people are now affected across 8 Provinces of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Eastern Visayas and Cordillera Administrative Regions after Tropical Cyclone VONGFONG's passage.
  • The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) reports widespread damage to 11,052 houses and 126 schools.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Articles: 733 | About casualties: 53 | Last hour: 0

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MANILA - The first typhoon to hit the country this year left at least P1.26 billion worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure, the disaster management agency said Tuesday, just as the nation grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic that
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Philippines: Asia and the Pacific: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapsh ... Tue, 19 May 2020 10:55:00 +0200.

PHILIPPINES. Following initial landfall in Eastern Samar on 14 May, Category 3 Typhoon Vongfong moved northwest over mainland Luzon bringing destructive winds and intense rainfall. According to initial reports, over 1,100 houses were destro
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DSWD brings 14.7K food packs to typhoon-hit Samar provincesTue, 19 May 2020 10:21:00 +0200.

AID FOR 'AMBO' VICTIMS. Relief goods transported by a military plane arrived in Catarman, Northern Samar in this May 16, 2020 photo. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday (May 18, 2020) said a total of 14,750 fam
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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Analytical products

Daily Maps:

13/May/2020 07:05 UTC

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: UNOSAT (1), EC-JRC (38), (2), WMO (1), INFORM (2),