MANILA (Reuters) - Landslides killed four people and trapped at least 31 others on Tuesday in a mountainous region of the Philippines, officials said, as Typhoon Yutu barreled across the country with strong winds and rains.

Stranded trucks park are seen on a roadside after ferry trips are suspended before Typhoon Yutu hits land at the port of Batangas, Philippines October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

Yutu, the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, swept across the main island of Luzon with wind speeds of 140 km per hour (87 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 230 kph (142 mph), before heading west over the South China Sea, the state weather agency said.

Roads blocked by collapsed earth prevented rescue teams from reaching the 31 people trapped in a landslide late in the afternoon that engulfed a local government building in the country’s Mountain province, local authorities said.

Another landslide in neighboring Ifugao province killed a 48-year-old man and three children aged between 8 and 11, according to a police report.

The typhoon, named Rosita by Philippine authorities, comes just six weeks after super typhoon Mangkhut dumped massive rains on Luzon, triggering dozens of landslides that killed more than 70 people in the mountainous Cordillera region.

At first light helicopters would fly rescue teams and search dogs to the 31 people trapped, who included public highways contractors, security guards and people sheltering from the storm, said Ruben Carandang, head of civil defense in the Cordilleras.

Footage from Yutu’s path captured by local television showed winds bending trees and signs, sheets of rain lashing down and loose materials flying through the air.

Local television reported one person was electrocuted and killed and another missing in Isabela, the province where Yutu made landfall.

Thousands of people in the typhoon’s path were evacuated before the storm hit from hilly, coastal and river areas on Monday after warnings were issued for landslides and waves of up to 3 meters (9.8 feet).

Yutu has weakened substantially since the night of Oct. 24, when as a super typhoon packing winds of 270 kph (168 mph), it made a direct hit on Saipan and Tinian, two islands of the Northern Marianas, an American territory about 9,000 km (5,590 miles) west of the U.S. mainland.

It was the strongest storm to hit the archipelago in 50 years and killed a woman and injured more than 130 people. It tore off the roofs of buildings, flipped vehicles and damaged generators, water pipes and downed hundreds of electricity poles.

By late Tuesday, Yutu had weakened to a category 2 storm, with maximum winds of 110 kph (68 mph) and gusts of 135 kph (84 mph), the state weather agency PAGASA said.</s>A typhoon that has caused devastation in some Western Pacific islands has made landfall in the Philippines, bringing strong winds and a risk of floods, storm surges and landslides in some northern provinces.

With wind speeds of 140 km/h and gusts of up to 230km/h, Typhoon Yutu was moving across the main island of Luzon and was due to exit the country during the afternoon on Tuesday, state meteorologist PAGASA said in a report.

Yutu, locally named Rosita, is the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year and comes just six weeks after super typhoon Mangkhut dumped massive rains on Luzon, triggering landslides that killed more than 70 people.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Local television footage from the path of the storm showed strong winds bending trees, sheets of rain and loose debris across roads.

Residents of some mountain and coastal areas were pre-emptively evacuated from their homes on Monday after warnings were issued for landslides and waves of up to 3 metres.

Edgar Posadas, spokesman for the office of civil defence, said uniformed personnel were on standby to help in any rescue missions.

Yutu has weakened significantly since the night of October 24, when as a super typhoon packing 270km/h winds it made a direct hit on Saipan and Tinian, two islands of the Northern Marianas, an American territory about 9000km west of the US mainland.

It was the strongest to hit the islands in 50 years and killed a woman and wounded more than 130. Yutu tore off the roofs of buildings, flipped vehicles and damaged electricity poles, generators and water pipes.</s>A resident walks next to a toppled electric pole after Typhoon Yutu slammed the northeastern Philippines on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018.

ILAGAN, Philippines – A strong typhoon blew across the northern Philippines on Tuesday, setting off landslides that left at least six people dead and forcing thousands to flee from villages that were still recovering from a deadly storm last month, officials said.

Regional police Chief Superintendent Rolando Nana said authorities were attempting to verify a report that a landslide buried a government building under construction in Natonin in Mountain province, trapping more than 20 people. Several landslides blocked roads and prevented policemen from reaching the area, he said.

Typhoon Yutu weakened considerably from its earlier super typhoon status before slamming into the Philippines’ northeastern Isabela province before dawn. It knocked down trees and power posts and ripped roofs off houses and stores, officials said.

The storm weakened further as it blew across the Sierra Madre mountain range and then barreled westward through Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet and La Union provinces, where an earlier typhoon, Mangkhut, left more than 100 people dead and missing in mid-September.

From La Union, Yutu began blowing out into the South China Sea, forecasters said.

Yutu’s sustained winds of 93 mph when it hit the Philippines was considerably less than the 180 mph registered earlier as it tore through the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, where it knocked out power, destroyed homes and delayed elections.

Still, Yutu’s winds and rain set off landslides in the mountainous north and caused massive power outages in Isabela and outlying provinces, officials said.

In Ifugao province, Baltazar Pinnay and his three young daughters died in a landslide in Banaue, which is famous for its mountainside rice terraces. Rescuers dug up their bodies, police said.

Separate landslides in the upland provinces of Kalinga and Mountain province, near Ifugao, killed a 40-year-old man and a young girl, Nana said.

More than 10,000 villagers moved to emergency shelters in several northern provinces. In Cagayan province, Gov. Manuel Mamba sai that despite improving weather after the typhoon passed, he asked hundreds of villagers not to return immediately to their homes near a swollen river.

“We didn’t even have to do forced evacuations. The people are still scared. They readily moved from the mountainsides and away from the river after our police declared it was time to evacuate,” said Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon, a mountain town where more than 90 villagers died earlier, mostly due to landslides set off by Mangkhut.

Mangkhut left more than 100 people dead and missing, mostly in Itogon and nearby mountain towns, and caused considerable damage to vegetable, corn and rice farms because it struck during the harvest season.

One of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, the Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. It is also located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.</s>Typhoon causing devastation in some Western Pacific islands made landfall in Philippines on Tuesday, bringing strong winds and risk of floods, storm surges and landslides in some northern provinces.

With wind speeds of 140 km per hour (87 mph) and gusts of up to 230 kph, Typhoon Yutu was moving across the main island of Luzon.

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It was due to exit the country during the afternoon on Tuesday, state meteorologist PAGASA said in a report at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT).

Yutu, locally named Rosita, is the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year .

It comes just six weeks after super typhoon Mangkhut dumped massive rains on Luzon, triggering landslides that killed more than 70 people.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Local television footage from the path of the storm showed strong winds bending trees, sheets of rain and loose debris across roads.

Residents of some mountain and coastal areas were preemptively evacuated from their homes on Monday after warnings were issued for landslides and waves of up to 3 m (9.8 feet).

Edgar Posadas, spokesman for the office of civil defence, said uniformed personnel were on standby to help in any rescue missions.

Yutu has weakened significantly since the night of Oct. 24, when as a super typhoon packing 270 kph winds it made a direct hit on Saipan and Tinian.

These are two islands of the Northern Marianas, an American territory about 9,000 km (5,590 miles) west of the U.S. mainland.

It was the strongest to hit the islands in 50 years.

It killed a woman and wounded more than 130. Yutu tore off the roofs of buildings, flipped vehicles and damaged electricity poles, generators and water pipes.</s>Landslides have killed four people and trapped at least 31 others in a mountainous region of the Philippines as Typhoon Yutu barrels across the country with strong winds and rains.

Yutu, the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, swept across the main island of Luzon with wind speeds of 140 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 230km/h before heading west over the South China Sea, the state weather agency said.

Roads blocked by collapsed earth prevented rescue teams from reaching the 31 people trapped in a landslide late on Tuesday afternoon.

The landslide engulfed a local government building in the country's Mountain province, local authorities said.

Another landslide in neighbouring Ifugao province killed a 48-year-old man and three children aged between 8 and 11, according to a police report.

The typhoon comes just six weeks after super typhoon Mangkhut dumped massive rains on Luzon, triggering dozens of landslides that killed more than 70 people in the mountainous Cordillera region.

At first light helicopters are expected to fly rescue teams and search dogs to the 31 trapped people, who included public highways contractors, security guards and people sheltering from the storm, head of civil defence in the Cordilleras Ruben Carandang said.

Footage captured by local television showed winds bending trees and signs, sheets of rain lashing down and loose materials flying through the air.

Local television reported that one person was electrocuted and killed and another missing in Isabela, the province where Yutu made landfall.

Thousands of people in the typhoon's path were evacuated from hilly, coastal and river areas on Monday after warnings of landslides and waves of up to 3 metres.

By late on Tuesday Yutu had weakened to a category 2 storm, with maximum winds of 110km/h and gusts of 135km/h, the state weather agency PAGASA said.</s>Typhoon Yutu slammed into the Philippines Tuesday with fierce winds that sheared off roofs and snapped trees, after thousands were evacuated ahead of the powerful storm's arrival.

Cutting a path just south of last month's Typhoon Mangkhut, which killed dozens, the new storm tore across the Philippines' most populous island, dumping heavy rain along the way.

Search crews were just beginning to assess the damage wrought by Yutu, which made landfall early Tuesday with sustained winds of 150 kilometres (95 miles) per hour and gusts up to 210.

Authorities said they were probing reports of two missing people, one from a capsized boat and the other swept away in a river.

"We see some branches on the roads and so on, but it is the flooding that is destroying houses here," International Federation of the Red Cross spokeswoman Caroline Haga told AFP from Nueva Vizcaya province. "People are needing to be rescued."

Nearly 10,000 people fled their homes ahead of Yutu's arrival because they live in low-lying areas susceptible to flooding.

The high winds flattened flimsy homes, tore the roofs off others and downed power poles as well as trees.

Landslides spawned by the storm blocked a major road in the mountainous north, isolating some residents, a civil defence official said.

Philippine disaster officials said the storm was less powerful than Mangkhut, which struck six weeks ago and left more than 100 dead. Most of the fatalities were due to a landslide in the mining area of Itogon.

Authorities near last month's deadly landslide evacuated at least 1,000 people from the Itogon area as Yutu approached.

An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty.

The Philippines' deadliest storm on record is Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November 2013.</s>Typhoon Yutu slammed into the Philippines on Tuesday with fierce winds that sheared off roofs and snapped trees in half, after thousands were evacuated ahead of the powerful storm's arrival.

Cutting a path just south of last month's Typhoon Mangkhut, which killed dozens, the new storm tore across the Philippines' most populous island bringing heavy rains along the way.

Search crews were just beginning to assess the damage wrought by Yutu, which struck Dinapigue town in northeastern Isabela province before dawn Tuesday with sustained winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 210 kph (130mph).

It knocked down trees and power posts and ripped roofs off small houses, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Authorities said they were probing reports of one person missing after a boat capsized as the storm was barrelling toward the country.

'We see some branches on the roads and so on, but it is the flooding that is destroying houses here,' International Federation of the Red Cross spokeswoman Caroline Haga told AFP from Nueva Vizcaya province.

'People are needing to be rescued.'

Nearly 10,000 people fled their homes ahead of Yutu's arrival because they live in low-lying areas susceptible to flooding and rivers tend to overflow their banks.

The high winds flattened flimsy homes, tore the roofs off others and downed power poles as well as trees.

Philippine disaster officials said the storm was less powerful than Mangkhut, which struck six weeks ago and left more than 100 dead.

Most of the fatalities were due to a deadly landslide in the mining area of Itogon.

A month of heavy monsoon rains had left mountainous areas in the northern Philippines primed for landslides, which were unleashed by the Mangkhut's torrential downpours.

Authorities near last month's deadly landslide evacuated at least 1,000 people from the Itogon area as Yutu approached.

An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty.

The Philippines' deadliest storm on record is Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November 2013.

Lorelai Plaza Lastica, a resident of Isabela, the province in northeast Luzon where Yutu made landfall, said power was down and she could see debris scattered on roads, but no major damage.

'It was scary since it was so strong past midnight,' she said.

State weather agency PAGASA advised against land and sea travel in affected regions and told residents to stay indoors.

Boat services were suspended in the busy port city of Batanga as thousands of people in some mountain, coastal and river areas moved to temporary shelters on Monday after warnings were issued for landslides and waves of up to 10ft.</s>At least 10,122 people were evacuated from their homes on Luzon Island in the northernmost part of the Philippines owing to the passage of Typhoon Yutu on Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

In the Cagayan region, where Yutu entered the Philippines on Tuesday morning, around 7,400 people were moved to 31 evacuation centers.</s>The Philippines raised tropical storm warnings and put a coastal region on high alert on Monday as Typhoon Yutu barrels toward the archipelago four days after it became one of the most powerful storms to hit U.S. soil.

As of Monday, Typhoon Yutu was a category 3 storm set to hit the Philippines Tuesday morning with sustained winds of 106 mph and gusts up to 130 mph, Reuters reports. Nine provinces in the Luzon region, where half of the Philippines’ population lives, were given a warning signal of 2 out of 5.

Known locally as Rosita, the storm has lost momentum since it rammed the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory of 52,000 people, on Oct. 24. The super typhoon tore through Saipan and Tinian, flattening neighborhoods, schools and hospitals, and reportedly killing at least one person. Over the weekend, President Trump declared a major disaster, paving the way for federal response efforts, USA Today reports. The U.S. Health Secretary also declared a public health emergency, triggering the deployment of health personnel and medical supplies.

Yutu, the strongest squall recorded on a U.S. territory, is also tied for the Earth's most powerful storm of 2018, USA Today reports.

Yutu will be the 18th typhoon to slam the Philippines this year six weeks after the monstrous Typhoon Mangkut , which prompted deadly landslides.</s>A scavenger collects recyclable materials along the breakwater amid strong waves as weather patterns from Typhoon Yutu affect Manila Bay on October 30, 2018.

MANILA - Philippine rescue teams worked to free at least 30 people trapped under earth and rubble on Wednesday after a typhoon dumped heavy rainfall on a mountainous region, triggering floods and deadly landslides.

Soldiers and disaster agency personnel managed to pass through blocked roads to reach the remote area during the night in northern Mountain Province, where a building owned by the local highways department was engulfed by an avalanche of earth.

A dead body was recovered from the site, one of seven people killed on Tuesday in four provinces in the Cordillera region, said Ruben Carandang, director of its civil defence office.

Typhoon Yutu swept across the main island of Luzon on Tuesday with winds of 140 km per hour (87 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 230 kph (142 mph), before exiting the land in the evening.

It came six weeks after super typhoon Mangkhut caused nearly 50 landslides in the Cordilleras, killing more than 70 people.

"In the pictures sent to me this morning, the building was not flattened. There were doors open. There are open spaces," Carandang said by phone.

"There is a possibility there are people still alive. They will not die if they were not crushed."

The disaster agency said 20 labourers, an engineer, three security guards and six or seven residents sheltering from the typhoon were inside.

Six of those killed in the Cordillera region died in landslides and another drowned in an overflowing river. Four of the dead were children aged between 5 and 11.

Radio reported a man was electrocuted in Isabela province, where Yutu made landfall. The national disaster agency reported no confirmed casualties on Wednesday but said seven people were "affected" by landslides.

Thousands of people in the typhoon's path were evacuated before the storm hit, mostly in mountainous, coastal and river areas at risk of floods, storm surges and mudslides.

When it struck the Philippines, Yutu's winds were half the strength of those it packed five days earlier, when as a super typhoon it piled into the US Northern Mariana islands, about 6,000 km (3,700 miles) west of Hawaii, killing one person, wounding more than 130 and damaging critical infrastructure.

Yutu, the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, was moving toward southern China on Wednesday and had weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 102 kph (63 mph) and gusts of 130 kph (81 mph), according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii.
Typhoon Yutu causes landslides in the Philippines, leaving at least four people killed and thirty-one others trapped.