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4th typhoon in month lashes Philippines; 12 killed

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-31 18:09

MANILA, Philippines: Typhoon Mirinae, the fourth in a month that hit the Philippines, barreled through the main island of Luzon early Saturday morning, killing at least 12 people.

A woman carries her baby as they walk over toppled houses due to strong winds and waves bought by Typhoon Mirinae along a lakeshore town in Taytay, Rizal province, east of Manila, Philippines on Saturday Oct. 31, 2009. [Agencies]

Most of the victims died of drowning or extreme cold in the eastern Bicol region and Laguna province south of the capital Metro Manila, local media quoted government disasters relief officials as saying.

Mirinae made landfall at the eastern Quezon province before 1 a. m. Saturday morning (1700 GMT Friday) local time and by 4 p.m. the eye of the storm was tracked above the South China Sea, about 230 km west of Metro Manila, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

"The worst is over," Nathaniel Cruz, the chief weather forecaster said in a radio interview. "We can expect improving weather as typhoon continues to move farther away from the country. "

The weather forecase bureau said Mirinae, packing winds up to 105 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, is now moving further west at 20 kph.

It weakened a little bit after it swept through the Philippines.

Related readings:  Heavy rain alert as typhoon gets closer  Powerful typhoon slams into Japan  11 sailors missing in Taiwan Strait amid Typhoon Parma  6,000 evacuated as typhoon lingers

Rains dumped by Mirinae have worsened the flooding in parts of the capital region caused by previous storms. The government disasters relief agency reported that at least 15 villages and districts in Metro Manila are submerged -- some in waist-deep floodwaters.

About 115,000 people living in low-lying areas were evacuated to government-run shelters before the storm came, the National Disasters Coordinating Council said, and the grounding of ferries stranded more than 8,000 passengers.

Averagely 20 typhoons and tropical storms hit the Philippines in a year. The country is still reeling from the massive flooding caused by two back-to-back storms earlier this month. More than 900 people were killed and 100,000 remain homeless and stay in government-run temporary shelters.