Typhoon Batters Philippines, Killing 10
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sep 28, 3:23 PM EDT
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Typhoon Batters Philippines, Killing 10*
By OLIVER TEVES
Associated Press Writer
MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A powerful typhoon cut across the northern
Philippines Thursday, hitting the capital with gale-force winds and
pounding rain, and killing at least 10 people, officials said.
Typhoon Xangsane toppled more than a dozen high-voltage power lines,
causing a "total system blackout" on the main island of Luzon, said
Arvee Villafuerte, spokesman of the state-run National Transmission Corp.
He said restoring the power was slowed by the extent of the damage,
adding that only about 12 percent of the Luzon grid was back up four
hours after it went down. The blackout and debris left Manila without
traffic and street lights. Hotels and shops used their own generators.
The Office of Civil Defense and local officials reported at least 10
people were killed, including a drunken man who fell into a river in
central Antique province and a driver pinned under the steel frames of a
giant billboard that fell on his van in Manila's financial district of
Makati.
The Manila airport, which canceled domestic and international flights
due to the high winds and power outages, resumed operations by early
evening.
The typhoon packed maximum winds of 81 mph and gusts of up to 100 mph
when it came ashore overnight in the central Bicol region, where it
knocked out electricity in five provinces.
It weakened into a storm with winds of 69 mph as it passed over Manila
and moved to the South China Sea Thursday evening, heading west toward
Vietnam at 14 mph with gusts of up to 88 mph, forecasters said.
High winds toppled trees and heavy downpours triggered landslides,
blocking some provincial roads. The typhoon also shut schools, ferries
and the country's financial markets.
Antique's acting Gov. Eduardo Fortaleza said rescue workers evacuated
about 100 residents who were trapped on an islet in the middle of a
raging river in the town of Barbaza.
Some residents ferried people across streets under knee-deep water on
makeshift rafts, charging about 40 cents per person.
It was the strongest typhoon to hit Manila in 11 years. In November
1995, the 163 mph super typhoon Angela battered the Philippine capital
and the central provinces, leaving 936 people dead.
Xangsane, the Laotian word for elephant, is the 10th typhoon this season.