At least 12 dead including two children after 560-mile wide Super-Typhoon Mangkhut hits the Philippines
It will be the 15th storm to hit the Philippines this year, and is also the strongest
Twelve people died in landslides and houses pummelled by storm’s fierce rain
Death toll could climb to 16, and more than 87,000 have been evacuated so far
By CHRIS PLEASANCE
DAILYMAIL.COM
15 September 2018
At least 12 people have died in the northern Philippines in the wake of the 560-mile wide Super-Typhoon Mangkhut.
Most of them died in landslides or inside houses that got pummelled by the storm’s fierce winds and rain.
Presidential adviser Francis Tolentino said the dead included an infant and another child who were among four people killed in a landslide in Nueva Vizcaya, one of several provinces battered by the typhoon today.
Mr Tolentino also said that at least two other people are missing and the death toll could climb to 16 once other casualty reports are verified.
He added that about 87,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas and advised not to return home until the danger has passed.
Mangkhut slammed ashore before dawn on Saturday in Cagayan province in the north-east and is on target to hit southern China on Sunday.
Ahead of landfall winds of 130mph and a storm surge of 23ft were predicted, and thousands were evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas.
Ministers have warned that more than 4million are at risk from the worst effects of Mangkhut, with torrential rains expected to cause landslides and flooding.
While high winds from Florence cover an area roughly 300 miles wide, the band of rain-clouds swirling around Mangkhut spans 560 miles.
This is the 15th storm to hit the Philippines – which is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world – this year alone, but is the most powerful.
Some residents – condemned to live in perpetual poverty because of repeated storm damage – were pictured reinforcing their vulnerable homes any way they could on Thursday before fleeing to safer ground.
Some placed heavy tyres on the roof to keep the corrugated metal from blowing away, others nailed wooden boards over glass windows, one man was even seen tying his roof down with rope.
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