Super typhoon Uwan’s 12-hour lashing of Catanduanes triggered flooding in all 11 municipalities as the storm surge swamped coastal villages and nearly a month’s worth of rain caused rivers to overflow.
Based on reports, the storm surge appears to have destroyed or damaged a lot more properties than flooding and Uwan’s 185 to 235-kph winds.
The lone fatality from the howler, however, was swept away by flooding in Viga town at the height of the typhoon’s passage to the northeast.
According to a resident, Cesar Rodriguez Jr., 48, of San Vicente, reportedly the personal secretary of Mayor Jennifer Tuplano, went to his farm in sitio Omagay in barangay Rizal at about 9 AM of Nov. 9, 2025 to check on his livestock, including fighting cocks.
He was going back to the población on board a motorcycle when he was swept away while crossing a flooded road.
Residents had been advised by disaster management officials not to venture out during the storm due to dangerous weather conditions.
In the capital town of Virac, huge waves pounded the coastline of 13 barangays, namely, Balite, Batag, Concepcion, Ibong Sapa, Palnab del Norte, Palnab del Sur, Rawis, Salvacion, San Juan, San Pablo, San Vicente, Sta. Cruz and Talisoy.
In the población, the sea surge cut off the PHIVOLCS tsunami warning facility from the rest of the breakwater while a section of the concrete wave deflector’s top portion at Sta. Cruz was broken off.
Scores of houses and public structures were reportedly destroyed or damaged in coastal areas in San Andres, Caramoran, Pandan, Bagamanoc, Panganiban, Gigmoto and Baras, especially in barangays without shore protection works.
The sea wrought damage even in areas protected by sea walls as the huge waves went over the top and flooded the surroundings.
Due to the storm surge that reached as high as three meters and coincided with the rising tide that peaked at 9 AM, the flooding from heavy rains that began on Nov. 8 caused rivers to overflow and the water had nowhere to go but inundate low-lying areas.
In barangay District III located along the Solong river bank and just 100 meters from Bato river, the floodwater left houses with only their roofs remaining.
As of Monday morning, the Office of Civil Defense said that, based on situation reports from the Catanduanes Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, a total of 50 barangays were affected by flooding in five towns.
Most are in Virac, with a total of 33: Antipolo del Norte, Antipolo del Sur, Dugui San Isidro, Dugui San Vicente, Dugui Too, F. Tacorda Village, Francia, Gogon Centro, Lanao, Marcelo Alberto, Pajo Baguio, Pajo San Isidro, San Roque, Simamla Proper, Sogod Simamla, Sta. Elena, Buyo, Calabnigan, Calatagan Proper, Capilihan, Cavinitan, Constantino, Danicop, Gogon Sirangan, Hicming, Igang, Magnesia del Norte, Magnesia del Sur, Marilima, Palta Small, San Isidro Village. Sogod Tibgao, Sto. Cristo, Sto. Domingo, and Tubaon.
The others are in Bagamanoc (Proper and Bugao), Baras (Moning, Eastern Poblacion, Western Poblacion, San Lorenzo, Genitligan and Agban), Viga (Sta. Rosa, San Vicente, Penafrancia, San Pedro, and San Jose Poblacion), San Miguel (District III) and Panganiban (San Pedro and Sta. Ana).
Barangays in the town proper of Bato also saw heavy flooding as the nearby river swamped its banks.
Many portions of the circumferential roads were rendered impassable to all types of vehicles due to numerous landslides, with heavy equipment of the DPWH Catanduanes District Engineering District deployed to clear the blocked roads.
The First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) implemented a preemptive of power service as early as midnight of Nov. 8 and has started restoring electricity in the capital town’s commercial area as well as key facilities.
While few posts were brought down by Uwan’s winds in the southern towns, the damage to the Catanduanes grid is expected to be heavy in Caramoran, Pandan and Bagamanoc.
Water supply interruption was reported by the Pandan and Virac Water Districts, with the latter announcing that restoration would take between 15 to 20 days.
A source told the Tribune that mud and sand buried the intake tank at VIWAD’s Cauayan source while two transmission pipes at the Sibanhan source were affected by the storm, with one of them broken in two and needing replacement.
Repair crews are already working at both sites, with the Cauayan repair reportedly nearing completion.
All told, according to the provincial government, a total of 98,394 Catandunganons composed of 28,657 families were affected by super typhoon Uwan, with 19,446 of them seeking shelter inside designated evacuation centers.
Aside from the lone fatality, a 51-year-old man from Batalay, Bato was reportedly injured when he fell from the roof while preparing their house against the storm.
According to PAGASA Virac officer-in-charge Juan Pantino Jr., most of the island was within the 300-kilometer-wide eye wall of super typhoon Uwan, with Pandan the closest to its center at about 25 kilometers.
It likely suffered the brunt of the storms 185 to 230 kph winds, with the Virac Synoptic Station recording sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 170kph at 10 AM coming from the southwest.
The typhoon also brought 226.7 millimeters of rain on Nov. 8, soaking the entire island, and adding another 165.7 millimeters on Nov. 9.
The two-day total of 392.4 mm was just short of the 418 mm of rain usually poured on Catanduanes during November.
This figure, however, pales in comparison to the 512.4 mm brought by typhoon Bising from April 17-20, 2021.
In contrast, super typhoons Rolly and Pepito had less rainfall when they hit the island: 244 mm for Rolly on Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2020 and 231.4 mm for Pepito on Nov. 16-17, 2024.