Typhoon Dujuan hits the Philippines displacing over 53,000 people

The Dujuan storm has forced more than 53,000 people in the Philippines to evacuate as several parts of the country, particularly its southern region, flooded. As the typhoon advances in the Southeast Asian nation, authorities on Monday reported 400 houses were destroyed by the storm, thereby triggering floods. No casualties have been reported.

This year's first typhoon, locally called Auring, dislocated at least 53,236 people in the Caraga region, with about 49,236 taking shelter in evacuation centres, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Classes were suspended in several provinces as schools and government buildings were turned into refugee centres.

In its latest bulletin on Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that the typhoon is moving northwestward to westward and is expected to cross Bicol Region, Southern Quezon, Marinduque, and northern Mindoro in the next 24 hours. Provinces such as Bicol, Cagayan, Tagum-Libuganon are still under watch for possible flash floods or landslides due to moderate to heavy rains.

Though cyclone warnings are now lifted, the Northeast Monsoon may continue to bring strong gusts over Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Aurora, and Quezon. PAGASA notified that the storm has weakened into a tropical depression on late Sunday (February 21) after intensifying as a tropical storm during the weekend.