MANILA, Sept 13 (NNN-PNA) – Several communities remain flooded and without power, after a strong typhoon battered the Philippines’ northernmost islands, the authorities said yesterday, displacing thousands of people.
Typhoon Chanthu, which, at one point was categorised by the Philippine weather bureau as a category 5 storm, has weakened, after powering into the northernmost region, including the Batanes island group, on Saturday, the weather bureau said.
“It’s one of the strongest typhoons I’ve felt,” said Dennis Ballesteros Valdez, a resident of Sabtang town in the province of Batanes, which is often pummelled by powerful typhoons.
“It could have been more destructive, if the houses were not built as strong,” Valdez said.
Footage taken by Valdez showed powerful winds and rains battering houses in Sabtang Saturday morning. More than 11,000 people have been affected by the typhoon, with more than 1,000 still in evacuation centres, the disaster agency said in a report. No casualties have been reported yet.
Chanthu has been downgraded to category 3, according to Tropical Storm Risk.
Around 20 typhoons hit the Philippines on average each year, according to the weather authorities.– NNN-PNA
