Typhoon Mangkhut swept through the northern end of the Philippine island of Luzon, the death toll has risen to 25 after the storm unleashed ferocious winds and rain. It uprooted trees, ripped off roofs, set off landslides and flooded farms and roads.
Cited from The Guardian, Presidential adviser Francis Tolentino said the central northern mountainous region of Cordillera appeared worst hit, with 20 confirmed dead, followed by four in Nueva Ecija and one in Marikina. However, the figures do not include Cagayan, where the storm first made landfall.
Yet amid the suffering, there was also relief that the situation was not much worse. The initial casualty toll was far lower than officials had feared in the days before the storm made landfall early Saturday on the Philippines’ largest and most populous island.
The storm is now heading towards China’s heavily populated southern coast at a speed of about 30km/h. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in Hong Kong and China’s National Meteorological Centre has issued a red alert for the typhoon – the highest possible alert.
On Sunday morning it was carrying sustained winds of 145km/h and gusts of up to 180km/h after leaving the Philippines.
Earlier, Tolentino said the dead included an infant and another child who were among four people killed in a landslide in Nueva Vizcaya, one of several provinces battered by the typhoon on Saturday. At least two emergency workers have been killed in landslides.
About 90,000 people were evacuated from high-risk areas and told not to return home until the danger has passed.
Sources: NYtimes.com, The Guardian