Typhoon death toll rises to four in Philippines

At least four people are known to have died after a powerful typhoon ripped through the Philippines, officials said yesterday, with high-speed winds prompting large-scale evacuations, tearing off roofs and shutting down Manila airport.

Typhoon Kammuri wreaked havoc on islands and provinces south of the capital Manila on Tuesday, sending nearly 600,000 people fleeing their homes, civil defence officials said.

Three people died on the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque after being hit by falling trees and other objects, and a fourth drowned on the island of Leyte, police and officials reported.

“Our hope is those (deaths) would be the last,” civil defence official Mark Timbal told AFP.

The impact could have been worse if not for the preparations made by communities and local governments however, Timbal added, with several provinces reporting zero casualties.

“We saw an improvement in the behaviour of the people who are now more willing to participate in evacuation procedures,” said Timbal, who is the spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

“Social media is a factor, while people also became more concerned over their safety in light of the series of deadly earthquakes that hit the country in recent months.”

“Pre-emptive evacuation was the key,” said Sher Saises, a civil defence official in the central city of Tacloban -- ground zero for Super Typhoon Haiyan, the country’s deadliest on record which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.