Typhoon smashes into Philippines, displacing 120,000 people with 8 missing

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A strong typhoon blew out of the Philippines on Monday after displacing more than 120,000 people, leaving several fishermen missing and causing at least six vessels to sink or run aground in storm-tossed waters, officials said.

Local authorities reported at least two dead from Typhoon Molave, including a villager who drowned, but the government’s main disaster-response agency said it would wait to include the deaths in its casualty count until after they are validated.

At least 13 people were initially reported missing, mostly fishermen, but five were later rescued separately off the eastern island province of Catanduanes, the Office of Civil Defence said.

The fast-moving typhoon blew out of the country to the South China Sea on Monday afternoon with sustained winds of 130 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 160 km/h, forecasters said. It roared overnight across island provinces south of the capital, Manila, which was lashed by strong winds but escaped major damage.

More than 120,000 villagers fled to safety at the height of the typhoon’s onslaught, with more than 75,000 taking shelter in hundreds of evacuation centres. The rest took cover in relatives’ homes.

Gov. Humerlito Dolor said despite widespread damage in his hard-hit province of Oriental

Mindoro, no typhoon deaths were reported there. In one area alone, 200 families lost their fishing boats, Dolor said. Many villagers have started to leave emergency shelters to fix their battered homes, he said.

Dozens of villagers were injured by falling trees and other storm debris as the typhoon pounded entire provinces, officials said.