Manila - Seven people, including three children, were killed Wednesday as a powerful typhoon slammed into the northern Philippines, triggering landslides and flashfloods. The children, aged 10, 3 and 1, were buried in a mudslide in Ucab village in Itogon town in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila, the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) said.
Three other people were buried in landslides in Baguio City and Bugias town, also in Benguet province, and in La Union province, while one man died when he was hit by a fallen tree in Abra province.
The OCD said a 50-year-old man was also reported missing after he was swept by strong river currents in San Nicolas town in Ilocos Norte province.
Classes were suspended at schools in Manila and northern provinces because of heavy rains and strong winds brought by Typhoon Nuri, which was packing maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 170 kilometres per hour.
The weather bureau said Wednesday that Nuri was located 50 kilometres off Aparri town in Cagayan province, 420 kilometres north of Manila. It was moving north-west at 17 kilometres per hour.
Disaster relief officials said several roads and bridges were rendered impassable from flooding and landslides.
The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons each year, and Nuri was the 12th one of the 2008 season.
In June, more than 1,300 people were killed or left missing when Typhoon Fengshen battered the central and northern Philippines, sinking a passenger ferry.
