Asia-Pacific

Typhoon mudslide kills 100 in Philippines

(AFP)
Updated: 2006-12-01 09:50

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Durian tore through the eastern Philippines on Thursday with winds of up to 139 mph, killing at least 100 people and cutting off power to thousands of homes, officials said.

Workers secure boats at the Manila Yacht Club in Manila. Super typhoon Durian slammed into the eastern Philippines, spawning torrential rains and powerful winds that blew away tin roofs and uprooted trees as it swept closer to Manila. [AFP]

A mudslide swept down on the village of Padang at the foot of the Mayon volcano, and at least 20 bodies were recovered, Noel Rosal, mayor of Legazpi city, capital of badly hit Albay province, said Friday.

Some victims had their clothes ripped off as they were swept away by the mudslide, he told The Associated Press by phone on Friday.

"I could not bear to look at some of them," Rosal said.

Elsewhere in Albay, 26 people were killed in Santo Domingo and 13 were missing, while another nine deaths were reported in the town of Daraga, said Jukes Nunez of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

About 30 people were injured by boulders and roofing materials in Padang and taken to hospitals, Rosal said.

Jukes Nunez of the Albay Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council said many parts of Legazpi were still flooded Friday morning.

"The request for rescue is overwhelming," he said. "The disaster managers are victims themselves."

The typhoon weakened early Friday as it moved north of Mindoro island, south of Manila, with sustained winds of 94 mph and gusts of up to 116 mph as it headed toward the South China Sea.

Rescuers struggled against strong winds to rescue residents whose roofs were torn off, exposing them to rain and flying sheets of metal, Naga Mayor Jessie Robredo told The Associated Press by cell phone. With telephone lines down, many residents whose houses were uprooted by the wind sought help by sending cell phone text messages.

"I've received SMS messages of 10 small houses being blown away by the wind and many others getting damaged," Robredo said.

The "super typhoon" — the fourth to hit the Philippines in as many months — was packing sustained winds of 121 mph and gusts of up to 139 mph, the weather bureau said.

The civil defense office said electricity was cut off to thousands of people in Bicol and 10 towns in nearby Quezon province, while nearly 4,000 ferry passengers were stranded after the coast guard grounded all vessels.

In late September, Typhoon Xangsane left 230 people dead and missing in and around Manila. Typhoon Cimaron killed 19 people and injured 58 others last month, and earlier this month, Chebi sliced through the central Luzon region, killing one.

About 20 typhoons and tropical storms hit the Philippines each year.