Typhoon Batters PhilippinesTyphoon Xangsane blew towards China on Sunday after battering the Philippines' main island of Luzon, killing 13 people, plunging towns and cities into darkness and forcing more than 20,000 to flee their homes.At least 25 people, mostly fishermen caught at sea by the typhoon, were missing while 217 were injured, the civil defense office said. Five motorboats capsized. Xangsane triggered floods that submerged homes and damaged hundreds of houses in the capital, Manila, and nearby provinces, it said. "The floods have reached up to the roof of our house and we can't find our mayor. We need help," a frantic housewife told a Manila radio station early Sunday. The typhoon packed center winds of 110 kph (70 mph) as it approached Luzon, but its force weakened to 75 kph (45 mph) when it crossed land during the night before heading out for the South China Sea towards southern China, a weather bureau spokeswoman said. |
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