Typhoon Yutu triggers deadly landslides in Philippines

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Landslides killed five people and trapped nearly three dozen others on Tuesday in a mountainous region of the Philippines, as Typhoon Yutu barreled across the country with strong winds and rains, AFP reported.

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 and gusts of up to 230 kph, 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.

Typhoon Yutu makes landfall at Category 2 intensity on Luzon in the northern Philippines, October 30, 2018. /VCG photo

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.

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.

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.

By late Tuesday, Yutu had weakened to a category 2 storm, with maximum winds of 110 kph (68 mph) and gusts of 135 kph, the state weather agency PAGASA said.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters