Typhoon leaves at least 28 dead, 12 missing

A strong typhoon that barrelled through the central Philippines left at least 28 dead and 12 missing, and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in sea and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set off landslides, flooded low-lying villages, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical poles and knocked out power in entire provinces. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloilo province as a ‘‘ghost town’’ on Christmas

Day. ‘‘You can’t see anybody because there was a total blackout, you can’t hear anything. The town looked like a ghost town,’’ Cindy Ferrer of the regional Office of the Civil Defence said by phone.

The storm weakened as it blew into the South China Sea with sustained winds of 120kmh and gusts of 150kmh, after lashing island after island with fierce winds and pounding rain on Christmas Day, the weather agency said.

Most of the deaths reported by police and local officials were due to drowning, falling trees and accidental electrocution.

A father, his three children and another relative were among those missing in hard-hit Iloilo province after a swollen river inundated their shanty.

The typhoon slammed into Eastern Samar province on Christmas Eve and then ploughed across the archipelago’s central region on Christmas, slamming into seven coastal towns and island provinces without losing power.

Provincial officials, army troops, police and volunteers spent Christmas away from home to tend to thousands of displaced residents in town gymnasiums and schools turned into emergency shelters. Many more people spent Christmas Eve, traditionally a time for family reunions, in bus terminals.

More than 25,000 people were stranded in sea ports after the coast guard prohibited ferries and cargo ships from venturing out. –AP