Typhoon claims 13 lives

(AP):

A super typhoon that killed 13 people and flattened forests and crops in the northern Philippines dumped heavy rains on the capital yesterday as it headed across the sea toward southern China.

Typhoon Megi struck the Philippines on Monday with ferocious winds of 140 miles (225 kilometres) per hour, but initial assessments showed relatively light damage and casualties, partly because the storm struck sparsely populated areas. Philippine officials also cited their massive emergency preparations days ahead of the storm.

Food vendor Nesie Callaotit, her husband and two children were hurriedly packing clothes to flee to safety when the wind yanked off half their tin roof, exposing their house in northeastern Isabela province to pounding rain and the horrifying wind.

They held on to a wooden post for three hours, weeping and praying together, until the torrents eased.

"All of us were in tears," the 40-year-old Callaotit said. "We thought it was our last day together."

After it exited into the South China Sea yesterday, Megi was almost stationary, packing winds of 108mph (175ph) but was forecast to regain strength before its expected landfall in southern China tomorrow. Chinese authorities evacuated 140,000 people from a coastal province.