Typhoon forces suspension of SEA Games events

The Filipino surfing team members during the surfing events of the Southeast Asian Games in San Juan, La Union province, Philippines, on Dec 2, 2019. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

The impending arrival of Typhoon Kammuri led to the suspension and postponement of SEA Games events like windsurfing and canoe-kayak races yesterday, with organisers noting contingency plans are in place for bad weather but also stressing the duration of the Games would not be extended.

The Games, held in the Philippines for the first time since 2005, are taking place in three major clusters around Clark, Manila and Subic and scheduled to end on Dec 11.

There are around 10,000 athletes and officials from 11 South-east Asian nations, along with another 12,000 volunteers.

Nearly 70,000 people have already fled their homes in the Bicol region in the east of the country.

Police across the Luzon and Visayas provinces as well as national support units and all provincial mobile forces have been placed on full alert by the Philippine National Police.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 03, 2019, with the headline Typhoon forces suspension of SEA Games events. Subscribe