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Death toll from Typhoon Melor rises to 11 in Philippines

Wednesday, 16 December 2015 6:13 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 16 December 2015 9:33 AM ]

Residents stand next to their damaged houses with blown out roofs after Typhoon Melor hit Bulan town in Sorsogon Province, south of the capital, Manila, December 15, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

The death toll from Typhoon Melor in the Philippines has risen to 11, with thousands of people being forced to flee their homes in the center of the country amid damaging winds, huge waves and torrential rainfall.

The governor of the Mindoro Island, Alfonso Umali, announced in a radio interview on Wednesday that six people were killed in what he described as one of the strongest typhoons to hit the region, which lies just to the south of the capital, Manila, in recent years.

Another five people had previously died in the northern tip of the largely agricultural island of Samar, where Melor first made landfall.

Disaster official Jonathan Baldo said about 90 percent of Samar, home to 1.5 million people, has been affected. Samar was badly struck by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, when water from massive waves inundated the island, killing at least 7,350 people.

“Many people will spend Christmas in evacuation centers without power and potable water,” Baldo said, adding that the typhoon has caused severe damage to thousands of houses built from light materials and reduced them to “matchsticks.”

“It may take three to four months to restore power in the province after power lines and electricity posts were toppled by strong winds,” Baldo said.

A resident walks past big waves as water spills over a wall onto a coastal road in the city of Legaspi in Albay Province, south of the Philippines capital, Manila, on December 14, 2015, as Typhoon Melor approaches the city. (Photo by AFP)

The Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported that most houses built of light materials were unroofed or destroyed in several provinces. Electricity supplies have been also disrupted, and rice and corn have suffered heavy losses.

Meanwhile, five fishermen have gone missing in Albay Gulf, which lies in the southern part of the heavily-populated Luzon Island.

Typhoon Melor, known locally as Nona, has grounded about 120 domestic flights, and forced the stoppage of nearly 200 ferry services. The typhoon has prompted about 800,000 people to seek refuge in shelters.

Heavy rain, estimated to have reached 300 millimeters, has brought significant flooding to Manila, and paralyzed train services in some areas. Chest-deep floodwaters also disrupted traffic gridlock on major roads.

The Philippines is one of the most typhoon-prone countries on Earth. Melor joins Maysak, Noul, Soudelor, Goni, Mujigae and Koppu in the list of significant typhoons to have battered the Southeast Asian country this year.

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