Typhoon Durian kills 21 in Philippines

MANILA, Dec 1 (Reuters) Typhoon Durian killed at least 21 people in the Philippines and the death toll was expected to climb as rescuers raced today to reach villages buried after winds and rain triggered landslides from a volcanic mountain..

The governor of Albay province told Reuters today that 20 people died after mud and rocks covered two villages close to Mount Mayon, around 322 km south of Manila. At least five other villages were also hit.

''We have suffered the devastating effects of the typhoon,'' Fernando Gonzales said. ''I am confirming 20 people have died.'' Another person was killed by flying debris.

One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes, Mayon raised fears of a major eruption in August after months of spewing flaming mud and rocks.

The alert level was lowered in September but the debris on the slopes shifted due to high winds and rain brought by the typhoon.

With winds of 150 kph and gusts of 185 kph, Durian left a trail of destruction across central and northern Philippines, affecting nearly 14,000 people as flooding and storm winds damaged homes, tripped power and halted sea travel.

Durian, which was one notch below a category 5 ''super typhoon'' when it crashed into the Southeast Asian archipelago on Thursday, weakened as it swept over the Philippine coast towards the South China Sea, where it will downgrade to a tropical storm.

Gonzales said it was impossible to verify local media reports of more than 200 fatalities because wide areas of Albay province were isolated after flooding, mudflows and fallen trees blocked roads.

Communications and water supplies were all down and the army was preparing to send in soldiers to assist medical teams in reaching submerged homes.

On the island of Marinduque, trees were uprooted, lamp posts wrenched out and roofs swept from buildings.

''It's the worst in our history, almost all houses were damaged by the typhoon in the province,'' Congressman Edmund Reyes said on local radio.

Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd said operations at its gold mine in Albay province had been interrupted by the typhoon and requested a halt in the trading of its shares to give it time to assess the damage. It said it would give an update on December. 4.

The typhoon skirted Manila, which was crowned by an early morning rainbow after a night of driving rain and high wind. Offices and schools were closed for a national holiday.

Named after a pungent and spiky Asian fruit, Durian is the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in three months.

In September, nearly 200 people were killed when Typhoon Xangsane battered the north and centre of the country, leaving millions without electricity or running water for days.

Xangsane also killed dozens in Vietnam but it was unclear whether Durian would hit that country after the Philippines.

Illegal logging and mining raises the risk of mudslides during the Philippine typhoon season. In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.

In 2004, a series of storms left about 1,800 people dead or missing, including 480 who were killed when mudslides buried three towns in Quezon, an eastern province.

REUTERS SBA PM0802