Super Typhoon Haima batters Philippines

20 October 2016

Filipino children shelter under a tarpaulin on a truck during evacuation in the town of Aparri, Cagayan province, Philippines, 19 October 2016 — Image caption,
Over 10 million people were in the path of the storm

At least four people have been killed in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Haima hit the country.

The storm, which brought sustained winds of up to 225km/h (140mph), made landfall over Cagayan in the north on Wednesday.

Nearly 100,000 people were evacuated from threatened areas as the storm approached.

There was widespread damage overnight, with homes destroyed and power lines brought down.

Authorities said two of those killed were buried in a landslide, and two others buried in a shanty town in a mountainous region.

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The Philippines were hit by a barrage of powerful winds

Experts had feared Haima could prove as destructive as the catastrophic super typhoon Haiyan, which claimed more than 7,350 lives in 2013.

The Philippines endures around 20 major storms every year, many of them deadly.

"I'm 60 years old, this is the strongest typhoon I have ever seen," village councillor Willie Cabalteja told news outlet the Associated Press.

President Rodrigo Duterte, in Beijing on a state visit, had said he prayed the Philippines would be spared but that they were "ready".

"We only pray we be spared the destruction such as previous times. Everything has been deployed."

Storm damage in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, northern Philippines (20 Oct 2016)

Powerful winds brought down power lines and tore of roofs

Residents who evacuated their homes due to Typhoon Haima take shelter at an evacuation centre in San Fernando, la Union in the northern Philippines on 19 October, 2016

Reuters

Residents driven from their homes by Super Typhoon Haima take shelter at an evacuation centre

A resident tries to salvage his destroyed roof blown away at the heigh of typhoon Haima in Carranglan town on October 20, 2016.

Getty Images

Many houses have lost their roofs, causing metal sheets to fly around

Filipino villagers collect house materials damaged by flood brought about by Typhoon Sarika in the town of San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, 16 October 2016.

EPA

It's just days since thousands fled the path of Typhoon Sarika

The storm was upgraded to a super typhoon just before it hit in Penablanca, a town in Cagayan province, around 23:00 local time (1500 GMT) on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, there were reports of damage across a wide area.

"Rice and corn plants as far as the eye can see are flattened," Villamor Visaya, a teacher in the northern city of Ilagan told the AFP.

"Many houses were destroyed. I saw one school building crushed under a large tree... it was as if our house was being pulled from its foundations."

Haima, known as Lawin locally, had a weather band 800km (500 miles) wide, and authorities had warned the public to expect fierce winds and storm surges up to five metres (16 feet) or higher.

It is the second typhoon to hit the Philippines in a week, after Sarika struck on Sunday. At least one person was killed in that storm, and three people are still missing.

Haima is now moving out across the South China Sea towards Hong Kong and southern China.

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