Death toll rises in the wake of Mangkhut in northern Philippines

by The Philippine Daily Inquirer – Asia News Network – BAGUIO CITY

Massive landslides have killed 64 people while 45 others remain missing in this city and in the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Kalinga and Nueva Vizcaya, as Typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut) unleased its fury on Friday night and early Saturday, the Philippine National Police said on Sunday.

The PNP said 33 people were injured in the massive storm. The hardest hit province was Benguet, where most of those who died perished in landslides. Power and communication lines were toppled, but some were restored late Sunday in parts of the mountain city and in provinces that were in the path of Ompong as it exited the country on Saturday night.

As of 3pm on Sunday, the typhoon was tracking 935 kilometers west-northwest of northern Luzon, well outside the Philippine area of responsibility. It was headed for southern China and Hong Kong, packing winds of 130 km per hour and gusts of up to 180 kph at a fast northwestward pace of 30 kph.

But rescue and retrieval teams continued to search for nine people buried in mud in Baguio, where 39 landslides were recorded.

Five bodies had been recovered, while a sixth person was struck and killed by a falling tree.

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