MANILA: At least one person was killed as a powerful typhoon skirted the Philippines Monday, dumping heavy rain that flooded dozens of villages and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes.
Typhoon Surigae packed sustained wind speeds of 195 kilometres (121 miles) an hour at its centre, about 500 kilometres off the Philippines, and was not expected to make landfall in the disaster-prone archipelago, according to the government weather service.
But strong winds and heavy rain reached the central region of the Eastern Visayas, where about 66 villages were flooded, the regional civil defence office said.
A 79-year-old man was killed after an uprooted coconut tree fell on him, the office said, adding that another man was missing after failing to return from rough seas.
More than 68,000 people living in the affected region had been evacuated from their homes as a precaution. Many of them were staying in emergency shelters, raising concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
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