Viral typhoon videos: Residents share wrath of tropical storm Opong in Masbate, Philippines

Manila: Severe Tropical Storm Opong (Bualoi) unleashed its fury in Masbate transforming the serene eastern Philippine island province into a theater of chaos.

Battered by nature’s relentless assault, residents of the cattle-raising, gold-rich island (five times the size of Singapore) took to social media, their viral videos capturing the storm’s wrath in vivid, heart-pounding detail.

“Stay safe po kita (let us), Masbateño,” a resident pleaded, her voice barely audible over the deafening roar of Opong’s unrelenting winds.

Driving rain, whipped sideways by ferocious gusts, drowned the island in a cacophony of sound, leaving no room for silence.

Waves crashed with primal force, hurling frothy spray inland, where it mingled with the howling wind, a symphony of chaos that disoriented even the hardiest souls.

Videos showed rain slashing diagonally across frames, as homes trembled under Opong’s might.

Windowpanes rattled violently, threatening to shatter, while doors shuddered in their frames, straining against the storm’s relentless pressure. Another video showed a tree branch crushing a parked vehicle.

Roof cladding, torn like paper, peeled away in jagged strips, lifted skyward before slamming back with bone-rattling force.

The air was alive with debris — loose papers, leaves, and small branches caught in swirling eddies, whipped into frenzied jets of wind that danced through the streets.

In one haunting video, a netizen showed a street-turned-river, with floodwaters surging, showing a tricycle falling off what appears to be a spillway amid chaotic floodwaters.

“Grabe, sobrang lakas!” (This is really strong!) one user captioned, the words barely conveying the terror of Opong’s grip.

Yet, amid the destruction, Masbateno resilience shone through a testament to a community enduring nature’s fiercest trial. Many of the posts were captioned "Pray for Masbate."

The tropical storm is currently roaring over the island of Mindoro, dumping heavy rains in the wide swath of Calabarzon area, en route to the West Philippine Sea.

Morning after image showed downed power distribution posts, roofs on the ground, and debris-strewn roads. The tropical cyclone is currently pounding the island of Mindoro, about 140km south of the capital Manila.