MANILA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Destructive winds and torrential rain brought by Typhoon Vamco have pounded the southern provinces of the Philippines' main island of Luzon on Wednesday, officials said.

It came as relief workers scrambled to help hungry villagers rendered homeless by the Super Typhoon Goni that lashed the country early this month.

The Philippine government evacuated thousands of villagers who are at risk, including those in the coastal villages, as authorities warned that the typhoon could trigger a storm surge of up to 3 meters in some areas.

Mayor Joseling Aguas of Santo Domingo town in Albay province in the Luzon island said the incessant rain had caused the soil and rock cascade down the road in a village, rendering roads leading to four villages impassable.

There have been no immediate reports of casualties or massive flooding so far.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the state weather bureau of the Philippines, said Typhoon Vamco, the 22nd tropical cyclone to lash the Philippines this year, is packing sustained winds of 140 km per hour and gusts of up to 195 km per hour.

Philippine officials urged people anew to be vigilant, warning the typhoon would bring "destructive winds and intense with at times torrential rainfall" in vast areas in Luzon, including Metro Manila, the Bicol region, the provinces of Aurora and Quezon.

Vamco has continued to move westward at 20 km per hour, the bureau said. It is forecast to make landfall in Polillo Island in Quezon province, Wednesday night, or Thursday morning.

The bureau said Typhoon Vamco would be close to Metro Manila between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Thursday. It would cause heavy to intense with at times torrential rains over the region between Wednesday night to Thursday morning, it added.

Typhoon Vamco lashed the Philippines after Super Typhoon Goni, one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country this year, killing at least 25 people.

Vamco will pummel the same areas battered by Goni.

Goni made landfall in the Philippines with 225 km per hour winds early this month in Catanduanes province. It unleashed torrential rains that drenched Bicol, the southernmost region of the main island of Luzon, flattening houses, and toppling trees and power lines.

Three other tropical cyclones hit the Philippines after Goni.

Typhoons and tropical storms regularly hit the country from June through December, claiming hundreds of lives and cause billions of dollars in damages.

Located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the Philippines is among the most disaster-prone countries in the world, including active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, and an average of 20 typhoons a year, causing floods and landslides.

The country lost 463 billion pesos (roughly 9.6 billion U.S. dollars) in damages to natural disasters from 2010 to 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Enditem

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