Fourth Typhoon in Month Hits Philippines

The fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in a month came ashore east of the capital, Manila, on Saturday morning, bringing heavy rain, flooding, and washing away shanty houses near the coast.

Photo: Fourth Typhoon in Month Hits Philippines

Typhoon Mirinae quickly moved west into the South China Sea and became a tropical storm. It was forecast to continue due west and then take a slight turn south, hitting Vietnam in about 48 hours, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

There were power flashes across Manila, as the storm hit Saturday and cut the electricity supply, videographer James Reynolds said. The storm was weaker than expected, he said, but it still brought fierce winds and lots of rain, CNN informs.

Authorities canceled about 180 flights from Manila while some ferry and bus services remained grounded, leaving thousands stranded and stopping people from returning to their home provinces for the All Saints' Day weekend.

Two typhoons killed more than 900 people in recent weeks, with parts of the capital, Manila, still under water.

"It looks like our countrymen can still commemorate All Saints' Day because the weather has cleared a bit," Colonel Ernesto Torres, spokesman of the disaster agency, said in a radio interview. "The typhoon is on its way out of the country."

The rainfall was not as heavy as had been feared, especially along the densely populated west coast of Luzon where floods from Typhoon Ketsana late last month killed more than 400 people, Reuters informs.

Authorities evacuated more than 115,000 people in nine province east and south of Manila in the path of Typhoon Mirinae. One river south of Manila overflowed and washed away a bridge and sending residents clambering onto roofs to escape rising waters.

Authorities say a man drowned after being swept away by strong currents as he tried to cross a creek while carrying his one-year-old child, who remains missing. A man and his son who were in a car on a bridge that collapsed in nearby Batangas province were also missing, The Associated Press reports.