Typhoon Mangkhut: Twelve dead as storm passes through Philippines with winds of up to 190mph

Typhoon Mangkhut left at least twelve people dead after ravaging the northern Philippines with heavy rain and winds of up to 190mph (305kph).

Two children are believed to have drowned as the storm approached while a baby and another child were killed in a landslide in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, according to officials.

At least three people died and six others were missing in the mountain city of Baguio after ferocious winds and rain destroyed several houses, said the city’s mayor, Mauricio Domogan.

Two rescuers were killed trying to free people trapped in a landslide in the mountainous Cordillera region, according to Ricardo Jalad, head of the national disaster agency.

Authorities are also trying to trace 70 men who reportedly returned to their coastal village in Cagayan to check on their homes.

The storm, known locally as Ompong, hit the main island of Luzon just before dawn on Saturday.

Mangkhut’s winds weakened to 105mph (170kph) with gusts of up to 161mph (260 kph) as it left the western coast at around noon local time on its way to southern China.

State weather agency PAGASA warned the danger was far from over despite downgrading the domestic threat level.

“We are asking the people to remain alert and continue taking precautions,” said PAGASA meteorologist Rene Paciente.

Storm surges and heavy rains could still trigger more floods and landslides, but the latest warning said there was “no serious threat”.

“Significant wind-driven waves can still affect low-lying coastal communities,” it said. “Residents in these communities are advised to stay away from the coast or beaches and cancel all marine activities.”

Rapid response teams were on standby with the air force for search and rescue missions as authorities assessed damage areas in the path of the storm, which felled trees, electricity poles and tore off shop signs and sheet metal roofs.

There was flooding in several provinces and parts of the capital Manila.

More than 1,000 houses were damaged in Cagayan province, where the storm first made landfall.

Rogelio Sending, a government official in Cagayan, said there were widespread reports of power cuts and uprooted trees blocking roads.

“This makes the clearing operations really difficult,” he said.

Authorities say they were better prepared for Mangkhut than they were in 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people.

A massive evacuation effort from high-risk coastal areas was undertaken in the preceding two days, with more than 105,000 people staying in temporary shelters.

Renato Solidum, a senior official at the Science and Technology department, said: “There has been an aggressive information dissemination to prepare well.

“Because the people had experienced a super typhoon recently, in 2016, they really had imagination about what happened before and that they really need to be prepared.”

Mangkhut, the 15th and most powerful typhoon to strike the Philippines so far this year, is now heading towards Hong Kong.

Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst as the storm barrelled towards the city.

“Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past,” Lee told a briefing on Friday. “Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst.”

Cathay Pacific said all of its flights would be cancelled between 2:30 a.m. local time on Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday.

In nearby Fujian province in China, 51,000 people were evacuated from fishing boats and around 11,000 vessels returned to port on Saturday morning.

China’s National Meteorological Center issued an alert saying Mangkhut would make landfall somewhere on the coast in Guangdong province on Sunday afternoon or evening.

Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press