370 000 evacuated as typhoon hits Philippines

Manila - A typhoon killed at least 10
people as it churned across the
Philippines and hit the capital, prompting
the evacuation of almost more than 370
000 people, shutting financial markets,
offices and schools, rescue officials said
on Wednesday.
The eye of Typhoon Rammasun, the
strongest storm to hit the country this
year, passed to the south of Manila on
Wednesday after cutting a path across the
main island of Luzon, toppling trees and
power lines and causing electrocutions
and widespread blackouts.
Richard Gordon, chairperson of the
Philippine National Red Cross, said there
was minimal damage in the capital but
staff were trying to rescue people trapped
by fallen debris in Batangas City to the
south where two people were electrocuted.
"We have not received reports of major
flooding in Metro Manila because the
typhoon did not bring rain, but the winds
were strong," he said.
The number of evacuated people had
reached more than 370 000, mostly in the
eastern province of Albay, the first to be
hit by the typhoon, the disaster agency
said.
Major roads across Luzon were
impassable due to debris, fallen trees and
electricity poles.
At least four south-eastern provinces on
Luzon declared, or were about to declare,
a state of calamity, allowing the local
governments to tap emergency relief
funds.
The storm brought storm surges to Manila
Bay and prompted disaster officials to
evacuate slum-dwellers on the capital's
outskirts.
Some 85% of areas serviced by the
country's biggest power distributor,
Manila Electric Co, in Luzon were without
power and were unlikely to be back up
within the day, a company spokesperson
said.
Parts of the Philippines are still recovering
from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest
cyclones known to have made landfall
anywhere. It killed more than 6 100
people last November in the central
provinces, many in tsunami-like sea
surges, and left millions homeless.
Rhea Catada, who works for Oxfam in
Tacloban, which suffered the brunt of
Haiyan, said thousands of people in tents
and coastal villages had been evacuated
to higher ground.
"They are scared because their
experiences during Haiyan last year are
still fresh," she said. "Now they are
evacuating voluntarily and leaving behind
their belongings."
Social Work Secretary Dinky Soliman said
5 335 families, or nearly 27 000 people,
had been "affected" by the storm in
Tacloban.
Some had returned to the Astrodome,
where thousands sought shelter and
dozens drowned during storm surges in
the November disaster.
Tropical Storm Risk, which monitors
cyclones, labelled Rammasun a category-
two storm on a scale of one to five as it
headed west into the South China Sea.
Super typhoon Haiyan was category five.
A 25-year-old woman was killed when she
was hit by a falling electricity pole as
Rammasun hit the east coast on Tuesday,
the Philippine disaster agency said. A
pregnant woman was killed when a house
wall collapsed in Lucena City in Quezon
province south of the capital.
Trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange
and Philippine Dealing System, used for
foreign exchange trading, were suspended
after government offices were ordered
shut.
More than 200 international and domestic
flights have been cancelled.
A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 suffered
a hole on its left wing when wind gusts
pushed the aircraft five metres across the
tarmac at Manila airport, hitting
equipment parked nearby, airport officials
said.
Reuters