Ferocious winds tore through the Philippines and shut down the capital Wednesday as the country’s first typhoon of the season forced some 350,000 people to leave their homes.
At least 11 are known dead so far after Typhoon Rammasun (‘Thunder God’ in Thai) tore off roofs, flung cars around the streets and ripped up trees by the roots in the city of Manila, home to more than 12 million people. Fishing villages in the outlying areas, hundreds of kilometers away, were equally blown flat by gale winds of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour.
Many foreign workers in Israel have family members in the Philippines, and the country is one of the tourist spots for young Israelis after they finish their military service. A past winner of a popular Israeli vocal entertainment competition was a foreign worker from the Philippines.