The death toll from Typhoom Mindulle’s rampage through the Philippines rose to 16 with 17 other people still missing and feared dead, civil defence officials said on Thursday.
Most of the dead and missing were washed away by flash floods in the northern Philippines while 16 more were injured by landslides, hit by roofing ripped from buildings and branches sheared off trees, the civil defence office added.
The typhoon has displaced nearly 180 000 people from 48 towns and three cities and destroyed or damaged more than 6 000 houses.
More than 4 000 people are still sheltered in evacuation centres, the office said.
Initial estimates of damage to crops and infrastructure rose to at least 353,9-million pesos ($6,3-million) with more reports of damage coming in.
Parts of the northern section of the main island of Luzon were still without electricity and some major arteries were cut off by landslides, overflowing rivers or floods, or toppled trees and power pylons.
The army has been mobilised to rescue families marooned by floods in the north, the civil defence office added.
A cargo ship ran aground on Tuesday and later sank off Masinloc town, northwest of Manila. Eighteen crew members and four passengers were rescued.
Mindulle struck the country on Tuesday and now threatens southern Taiwan and eastern China. — Sapa-AFP