At least 77 people were killed in accidents caused by typhoon Rammasun in the Philippines, with more than half a million people displaced by the strongest storm to hit the country this year, the government said Saturday.
Most of the victims were hit by toppled trees, collapsed structures and other debris as Rammasun lashed Manila and eastern provinces with winds of up to 150 kilometres per hour, the national disaster risk management agency said.
The typhoon caused widespread power outages affecting millions since it made landfall on Tuesday. Supply was restored to many areas, but authorities said rotating brownouts would be experienced until all damaged facilities are repaired.
More than 110,000 houses were destroyed by the storm that caused damage to infrastructure and agriculture worth an estimated 5.86 billion pesos (136 million dollars), the disaster risk management agency said.
The weather bureau said a new storm would cause more rains over the eastern Philippines, but would not make landfall. Tropical storm Matmo was packing winds of up to 95 kph and gusts of up to 120 kph was moving north-west along the country's eastern coast, dpa reported.
Rammasun struck as the country was still recovering from super typhoon Haiyan, one of the world's strongest cyclones, which killed more than 6,200 and displaced over 4 million people in November.