Ten dead in Philippines as typhoon heads

MANILA, Oct 31: Thousands of people were sheltering in evacuation centres today after Typhoon Cimaron swept through northern provinces of the Philippines, killing at least 10 people with fierce winds and raging waters.

Cimaron slammed into Luzon, the Philippines' most populated island and its rice bowl, on Sunday night as a maximum category five storm or ''super typhoon'', tearing up trees, power lines and roofs and destroying houses and roads.

The typhoon, the second to hit the Philippines in over a month, weakened as it swept out of the archipelago yesterday and was churning westwards towards Vietnam with winds of 120 km per hour and gusts of up to 150 km per hour.

Cimaron was expected to pick up speed as it moved across the South China Sea and weather forecasters warned it could change direction and hit China.

''If it continues with its path it will affect Vietnam but there is a good chance it will shift north and will likely affect Hainan and if it continues its upward direction, maybe Hong Kong,'' said Robert Sawi, a forecaster with the Philippine weather bureau.

At least five people were reported drowned or killed by falling trees in the coastal province of Isabela, according to local mayor Renato Candido. There were at least five other reported fatalities, disaster officials said.

The Office of Civil Defense said police were still verifying reports of several landslides.

Over 2,000 people were evacuated to makeshift accommodation while nearly 180,000 were affected by wind damage, landslides and flooding. At least four provinces were still without power.

The storm disrupted thousands of travellers on the move for the Roman Catholic festivals of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2, when millions of Filipinos throng cemeteries to honour their dead.

Cimaron was estimated to have destroyed around 114 billion billion pesos worth of crops, fisheries and livestock. The bill for damage to roads, bridges and schools was put at 25 billion pesos.

The Department of Agriculture has said the typhoon destroyed around eight per cent of rice and corn due for harvesting before the end of the year.

Cimaron crashed into the archipelago just weeks after Typhoon Xangsane raked the Philippines and Vietnam, killing at least 169 people and taking a heavy toll on electricity networks, roads and crops.

The Philippines cut its annual agricultural growth target to around 4 percent for 2006 from at least 5 percent due to the destruction wrecked by Xangsane.

Storms regularly hit the Philippines but parts of northern Luzon are mountainous and heavily logged, raising the risk of more floods and landslides.

In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died in the central province of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.''

REUTERS