Typhoon Mirinae barrels through Philippines, 12 dead

Residents wade through the floodwaters brought on by Typhoon Mirinae that hit Sta. Cruz town in Laguna province, south of Manila October 31, 2009. The third typhoon to hit the Philippines in five weeks slammed into the main island of Luzon on Saturday, uprooting trees and toppling power lines, but there were no immediate reports of widespread damage. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Typhoon Mirinae, the fourth in a month that hit the Philippines, barreled through the main island of Luzon early Saturday morning, killing at least 12 people.

Most of the victims died of drowning or extreme cold in the eastern Bicol region and Laguna province south of the capital Metro Manila, local media quoted government disasters relief officials as saying.


A father and his children wade through a flooded street caused by flash floods brought about by Typhoon Mirinae in the town of Santa Cruz, Laguna province, south of Manila.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Mirinae made landfall at the eastern Quezon province before 1 a.m. Saturday morning (1700 GMT Friday) local time and by 4 p.m. the eye of the storm was tracked above the South China Sea, about 230 km west of Metro Manila, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

"The worst is over," Nathaniel Cruz, the chief weather forecaster said in a radio interview. "We can expect improving weather as typhoon continues to move farther away from the country."

The weather forecase bureau said Mirinae, packing winds up to 105 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, is now moving further west at 20 kph.

It weakened a little bit after it swept through the Philippines.

Rains dumped by Mirinae have worsened the flooding in parts of the capital region caused by previous storms. The government disasters relief agency reported that at least 15 villages and districts in Metro Manila are submerged -- some in waist-deep floodwaters.

About 115,000 people living in low-lying areas were evacuated to government-run shelters before the storm came, the National Disasters Coordinating Council said, and the grounding of ferries stranded more than 8,000 passengers.

Averagely 20 typhoons and tropical storms hit the Philippines in a year. The country is still reeling from the massive flooding caused by two back-to-back storms earlier this month. More than 900 people were killed and 100,000 remain homeless and stay in government-run temporary shelters.

Source: Xinhua