Strong typhoon triggers landslides in Philippines

Tuguegarao - Presidential adviser Francis Tolentino said the 12 died mostly in landslides and houses that got pummeled by the storm's fierce winds and rain.

Typhoon Mangkhut lashed the northern Philippines with destructive winds and heavy rain that set off landslides and destroyed homes on Saturday, leaving at least 12 people dead, as Hong Kong and other parts of southern China braced for the powerful storm.
The most ferocious typhoon to hit the disaster-prone Philippines this year slammed ashore before dawn in Cagayan province on the northeastern tip of Luzon island, a breadbasket that is also a region of flood-prone rice plains and mountain provinces with a history of deadly landslides. China and the Philippines agreed to postpone a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that was to start on Sunday due to the onslaught, which caused nearly 150 flights, a third of them international, to be cancelled and halted sea travel.
Presidential adviser Francis Tolentino said the 12 died mostly in landslides and houses that got pummeled by the storm's fierce winds and rain. Among the dead were an infant and a 2-year-old child who died with their parents after the couple refused to immediately evacuate from their high-risk community in a mountain town in Nueva Vizcaya province, Tolentino said.

• Philippines