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December 27, 2019

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Typhoon Phanfone kills 20 in central Philippines

Source: AP | 00:13 UTC+8 December 27, 2019 | Print Edition

A STRONG typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines killed at least 20 people and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Catholic country.

Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in sea and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set off landslides, engulfed low-lying villages with floods, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical posts 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 Defense said by phone.

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

Most of the 20 deaths reported by 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 barreled across the archipelago’s central region, slamming into seven coastal towns and island provinces.

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