Deadly typhoon changes course

2006-11-01 11:43

Manila - Typhoon Cimaron left 19 people dead mostly in drowning and landslides, injured 58 others and damaged more than 5 000 houses in the Philippines' mountainous north before blowing out of the country, officials said on Wednesday.

Fifteen other people remained missing after the typhoon departed on Tuesday from the country's northern Luzon island, where it caused floods, triggered landslides and knocked out power in hundreds of farm villages, the national disaster co-ordinating council said.

The typhoon affected nearly 283 000 people in the north and damaged 443 million pesos ($8.8m) worth of crops, livestock, roads, bridges and school buildings, it said.

Despite problems wrought by the typhoon, many villagers in the north commemorated All Saints' Day on Wednesday, a public holiday when millions travel to cemeteries nationwide to remember their dead. Officials have warned people to cancel trips to typhoon-hit northern areas.

Originally a super typhoon, Cimaron lost strength after slamming into the Cordillera mountain range as it cut across northern Luzon late on Sunday and Monday with winds of 120km per hour and gusts of up to 210kph, the Philippine weather bureau said.

It initially headed toward Vietnam but a cold front caused it to change course, veering toward Hainan Island in south-eastern China on Wednesday with winds of 140kph and gustiness of 170kph.

About 20 typhoons and tropical storms lash the country each year.

Last month, Typhoon Xangsane left 230 people dead and missing as it ripped through Manila and neighbouring provinces.

- AP