Manila - At least five people were killed in landslides and other accidents caused by a powerful typhoon that pummelled the northern Philippines, disaster relief officials said Friday. Three people were also reported missing and five injured in landslides in the northern provinces of Ifugao and Zambales, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
Two people were killed in the landslide in Ifugao, while two drowned in the provinces of Bataan and Batangas. One man succumbed to a heart attack in Olongapo City.
Typhoon Chan-Hom slammed into the northern province of Pangasinan late Thursday with maximum winds of 150 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 185 kph.
The weather bureau said Chan-Hom weakened as it made landfall and continued to move north-east at 15 kph. Its maximum winds dropped to 95 kph and gusts of up to 120 kph.
It was expected to be out of the country by Sunday.
Chan-Hom toppled electrical posts, uprooted trees and busted electrical transformers in the northern resort city of Baguio, where five landslides occurred, the NDCC said.
Thousands of passengers were also stranded in various ports in the northern and central Philippines as the coast guard prohibited sea travel amid stormy seas.
Electricity was also down in a wide area in the affected provinces, the NDCC said.
Chan-Hom struck the Philippines a few days after typhoon Kujira battered eastern provinces, killing 27 people and damaging more than 9 million dollars worth of crops, livestock and fisheries.
