Nine killed, 11 missing after tropical storm hits northern Philippines

Gulf Today Report

At least nine people were killed and 11 others were missing after a tropical storm set off landslides and flashes flooding as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines overnight.

Heavy rain across the Philippines flooded villages and triggered landslides, authorities said on Tuesday.

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Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu drenched swathes of the most populous island of Luzon on Monday as it swept across the archipelago nation towards the South China Sea.

Rescuers evacuate residents from their homes due to heavy rains in Gonzaga town, north of Manila, on Monday. AFP

More than 1,600 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind that toppled trees and knocked down power.

Tropical storm Kompasu was last tracked over the South China Sea about 315 kilometers (195 miles) west of Cagayan province with sustained winds of 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour and gusts of 125 kph (78 mph), government forecasters said.

About 20 storms and typhoons each year lash the Philippines, which also lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire,” a region often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making the Southeast Asian archipelago one of the most disaster-prone in the world.