Name: Typhoon Fung-wong was bigger than all of the Philippines
Uploaded: 2025-11-19T01:43:36.725Z
Duration: 1 min 31 s
Description: Super Typhoon Fung-wong was massive — nearly 1,800 kilometres across, covering almost the entire Philippine archipelago. But it wasn’t just its size that made it dangerous. CBC’s Johanna Wagstaffe looks into how back-to-back storms, weakened infrastructure, and political controversy turned this cyclone into a disaster waiting to happen.

Super Typhoon Fung-wong was massive — nearly 1,800 kilometres across, covering almost the entire Philippine archipelago. But it wasn’t just its size that made it dangerous. CBC’s Johanna Wagstaffe looks into how back-to-back storms, weakened infrastructure, and political controversy turned this cyclone into a disaster waiting to happen.

Manila

Super Typhoon Fung-wong impacted the Philippines, covering almost the entire archipelago with a span of nearly 1,800 kilometers. The storm followed closely after Typhoon Kalmegi, which had already caused significant fatalities and damage, leaving emergency services under severe strain.

The combination of saturated ground, damaged infrastructure, and concerns over diverted flood control funds heightened the disaster's impact. The timing and scale of Fung-wong made it particularly challenging for the country to respond effectively to the crisis.

Typhoon Fung-wong was bigger than all of the Philippines

You're looking at images of Manila in the Philippines hit by its second massive storm in less than a week. This is the impact of Super Typhoon Phuong Nguan. Super Typhoon Phuong Nguan was enormous, stretching nearly 1,800 kilometers. It covered almost the entire Philippine archipelago. Put it another way, if it had been over Canada, it would have spanned from Toronto through to Winnipeg. This is not your average sized cyclone. Phuong Nguan was exceptional. Cyclones on average can sit anywhere from 200 to 1,000 kilometers in size, but only a handful on record have hit that 2,000 kilometer mark. But in the case of Phuong Nguan in the Philippines, it isn't simply the size of the storm that presented the biggest threat. Well, you know. Timing was an equally big factor here. This was the second super typhoon, a top-end storm, to hit the country in just one week. Emergency workers are already stretched from Typhoon Kalmegi, which hit November 4th. That storm killed over 200 people and prompted a one-year state of national calamity to speed relief. Between the already saturated grounds, damaged infrastructure and accusations that corruption has been diverting flood control funds, Phuong Nguan may have been a disaster waiting to happen regardless of size.

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