Super typhoon Pepito forces 18,000 Aurora residents to evacuate

Thousands of residents in Aurora have been evacuated due to Super Typhoon Pepito, with the number of evacuees reaching 18,094 as of Sunday morning.

As of Sunday morning, at least 13,244 evacuees from eight towns were in 149 evacuation centers, while 4,870 were staying with relatives.

Pre-emptive evacuations began on Friday in several towns, including Baler, Dinalungan, Dingalan, and Dipaculao.

Super Typhoon Pepito was forecast to make landfall in the province's southern part between Sunday noon and afternoon.

Storm surges were reported in four coastal villages in San Luis town.

Central and southern Aurora were under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4, with torrential rains and typhoon-force winds forcing more residents to take shelter.

The province is still recovering from the damage caused by Typhoons Nika and Ofel, which destroyed six flood protection structures, 43 houses, and damaged 867 homes.