Manila: A 78-year-old man died after a tree fell onto a nipa hut at the height of Typhoon Tino’s onslaught in MacArthur, Leyte early Tuesday. The victim, identified only as ‘Max,’ was found lifeless inside the damaged hut after the incident, the MacArthur Municipal Police Station reported.

According to Philippines News Agency, at about 5:40 a.m., a council member in Barangay Romualdez personally reported that a resident had been found dead inside a collapsed hut hit by a fallen tree. Police and personnel of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office immediately responded to the area to assist in retrieval operations and conduct an investigation.

Initial investigation showed that the victim, a widower and an unemployed resident of the village, had been staying with his niece in a house. According to the niece, the victim insisted on leaving their house at about 10 p.m. on Nov. 3 despite being advised to stay and take shelter at the nearby evacuation center.

The following morning, relatives searching for him discovered his body inside the hut that was crushed by the fallen macopa tree. Authorities noted that Barangay Romualdez was not among the areas covered by the forced evacuation order issued by the local government before the typhoon’s landfall.

Local officials reminded residents to heed government advisories and evacuation orders during severe weather conditions to prevent similar incidents during weather disturbances.