Philippines Typhoon Kills 4

A powerful typhoon has killed at least four people in the Philippines before passing over the capital Manila.

Typhoon Nock-Ten, known locally as Nina, made landfall on the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Christmas Day, moved westward on Monday, packing winds of up to 240 kph and gusts of 290 kph, government forecasters said.

Tens of thousands of villagers were displaced, as the typhoon cut power to five provinces at the height of the storm.

A farmer died in Quezon Province and three other villagers, including a couple, were swept away by a flash flood in Albay Province. Officials in Albay where more than 150,000 villagers were displaced by the typhoon, declared a “state of calamity” to allow faster disbursement of emergency funds.

More than 218,000 people had fled their homes while 48 domestic and international flights were cancelled, the civil defense office said, as the unusually late typhoon marred Christmas celebrations.