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Philippines Evacuates 24,000 Ahead of Super Typhoon

Filipino villagers evacuate in the coastal municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province, Philippines, 14 November 2024. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
Filipino villagers evacuate in the coastal municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province, Philippines, 14 November 2024. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
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Philippines Evacuates 24,000 Ahead of Super Typhoon

Filipino villagers evacuate in the coastal municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province, Philippines, 14 November 2024. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
Filipino villagers evacuate in the coastal municipality of Santa Ana, Cagayan province, Philippines, 14 November 2024. EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG

Authorities in the Philippines on Thursday ordered evacuations in northeastern towns ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Usagi, as the storm-ravaged nation prepares for its fifth typhoon in a month and braces for a sixth later in the week.
More than 24,000 people in the province of Cagayan have been evacuated, government data showed, including those forced to flee by earlier typhoons that inundated their towns. Evacuation efforts are ongoing, Reuters reported.
Usagi, known locally as Ofel, is forecast to make landfall in the province on Thursday afternoon.
"We are expecting the Cagayan river to swell again because of rains brought by Usagi," said Rueli Rapsing, head of the Cagayan disaster relief office.
He added that central and southern parts of Cagayan were experiencing moderate to heavy rains, while other parts of the province had gusty winds of up to 100 kph (62 mph). Essential supplies like generators are ready in anticipation of power and communications blackouts from Usagi.
Another tropical storm, Man-yi, is approaching and forecast to hit the central Philippines on Saturday. All non-essential land travel in central provinces is discouraged, the transport ministry said in an advisory on Thursday.
About 20 tropical storms strike the Philippines each year on average, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and deadly landslides.
In October, Storm Trami and Kong-rey pounded the main island of Luzon, killing 159 people, with 22 still missing, data from the national disaster agency showed.

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Freed Spanish Hostage Set to Land in Algerian Air Base

Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
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Freed Spanish Hostage Set to Land in Algerian Air Base

Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights
Gilbert Navarro, a Spanish national who was kidnapped in south Algeria and transported by his captors to north Mali, is handed over to the Algerian authorities after he was freed by the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), on the outskirts of Tinzaouaten, Mali, January 21, 2025. REUTERS/ Abdolah Ag Mohamed Purchase Licensing Rights

A plane carrying Spanish hostage Gilbert Navarro, who was kidnapped in North Africa on Jan. 17, was expected to land in Algeria's Boufarik air base, Algerian state media reported on Tuesday.
His expected arrival at the Algerian air base comes after a Tuareg rebel alliance in northern Mali said late on Monday they had released Navarro, Reuters said.
Spain's Foreign Ministry said on Friday that a Spanish man had been kidnapped in North Africa.
El Pais newspaper reported that the man was kidnapped in southern Algeria by an
extremist group and taken to Mali, though the Foreign Ministry did not confirm that information.
In a post on X, one of the leaders of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) said Spanish national Gilbert Navarro "kidnapped in Algeria a few days ago" and transported by his captors to north Mali had been freed by FLA forces on Monday. An FLA spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said on X that the FLA had freed Navarro, who was in good health, and that more details would follow.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Spain is in a dispute between Morocco and Algeria over the Western Sahara, which was controlled by Spain until 1975 and is now claimed by Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks its independence.