MANILA, Philippines — Around 17,000 families may welcome 2018 in evacuation centers due to Typhoon Vinta, which caused widespread damage across the country earlier this month. There were 17,302 families in 90 evacuation centers as of Sunday morning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said. Vinta left the Philippine Area of Responsibility on the morning of December 24, after battering Mindanao and triggering landslides in Cagayan de Oro City, and in several towns in Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces. The European Union, meanwhile, has pledged P34 million (€570,000) worth of humanitarian aid to Vinta-affected families and communities. According to the state weather bureau, the new weather system is expected to develop into a tropical depression within the next 48 hours.

Source: Philippine Star December 31, 2017 06:58 UTC