At least 14 people were killed after typhoon Chan-Hom (locally known as "Emong") hit the northern Philippines with high winds and heavy rains overnight, the government said on Friday.
Nine residents were injured while three others are still missing after Chan-Hom made landfall in the northern province of Pangasinan Thursday night, according to a statement released by the country's National Disaster Coordinating Council on Friday afternoon.
A total of 923 families or 4,003 persons have been affected by the typhoon, which has weakened into a tropical storm as it exited out of the country on Friday, said the disaster-relief government agency.
At least seven houses were damaged by the cyclone and eleven landslide incidents were reported, according to the statement.
Chan-Hom was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph when it made landfall in Pangasinan province, and now it's moving away from the country east northeast at a speed of 15 kph with maximum winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph.
The storm is expected to be 430 kilometers east northeast of Aparri, Cagayan on Saturday morning and 490 kilometers east northeast of Basco, Batanes on Sunday morning, weathercasters said.
It was the second cyclone that battered the Philippines over a week. Last weekend, tropical storm "Kujira" (locally known as " Dante") lashed the northeastern region of Bicol and left at least 27 dead and more than 50,000 displaced.
Lying on the west of the Pacific, the Philippine archipelago is hit by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms every year.
Weathercasters say that the cyclones have arrived in the country over one month earlier than usual, possibly as a result of the global warming.
(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2009)
