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Philippines Check Typhoon's Damage, Casualties Amid Rains

by Associated Press

   TUGUEGARAO, PHILIPPINES (AP) _ --

   Philippine officials were assessing damage and checking on possible
   casualties as Typhoon Mangkhut on Saturday pummeled the northern
   breadbasket with ferocious wind and rain that set off landslides,
   damaged an airport terminal and ripped off tin roofs.

   There are no immediate deaths reported, but Defense Secretary Delfin
   Lorenzana said officials in northeastern Cagayan province, where the
   typhoon slammed ashore before dawn, were verifying the drownings of two
   children. Authorities were also checking on about 70 men who reportedly
   returned to their coastal village to check on their homes during
   dangerous storm surges that saw walls of seawater whipped inland.

   Mangkhut's sustained winds weakened to 170 kilometers (105 miles) per
   hour with gusts of up to 260 kph (161 mph) after it sliced across Luzon
   Island's flood-prone rice plains and mountain provinces toward the
   South China Sea, aiming at southern China and Hong Kong, where
   residents braced for the worst.

   "It's still a life and death situation," Lorenzana said by telephone,
   citing past drownings in swollen rivers in mountain provinces.

   'Storm warnings in 10 provinces

   Storm warnings remained hoisted in 10 northern provinces, including
   Cagayan, which could still be lashed by devastating winds, forecasters
   said. Tens of thousands of people on the typhoon's path had been
   evacuated.

   At daybreak in Cagayan's capital, Tuguegarao, Associated Press
   journalists saw a severely damaged public market, its roof ripped apart
   and wooden stalls and tarpaulin canopies in disarray. Outside a popular
   shopping mall, debris was scattered everywhere and government workers
   were clearing roads of fallen trees.

   Many stores and houses were damaged, but most residents remained
   indoors as occasional gusts sent small pieces of tin sheets and other
   debris flying dangerously.

   Tuguegarao airport terminal was badly damaged, its roof and glass
   windows shattered by strong wind, which also sent chairs, tables and
   papers flipping about inside, Lorenzana said.

   'Scramble to save crops

   The typhoon struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season
   in Cagayan, a major agricultural producer, prompting farmers to
   scramble to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel
   Mamba said.

   A government damage assessment was underway except in areas still being
   battered by wind and rain. Two air force C-130 cargo planes and 10
   helicopters were on standby in Manila to help transport rescuers and
   aid supplies.

   More than 5 million people were at risk from the storm, which the
   Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded from a super
   typhoon but one that's still punching powerful winds and gusts
   equivalent to a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

   'China braces for storm

   In Hong Kong, Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to
   prepare for the worst as Mangkhut barreled toward the southern Chinese
   city.

   Cathay Pacific said all flights will be canceled between 2:30 a.m.
   local time Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday.

   "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 Friday. "Each department
   must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan,
   and prepare for the worst."

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