At least one person died as super Typhoon Megi pounded parts of the northern Philippines, forcing nearly 3,700 people to safer ground, officials said Monday.
Officials said a man drowned in Cagayan River on northern Luzon Island, one of the areas absorbing the brunt of the storm, which slammed into the Sierra Madre mountains, Sun.Star Network Exchange reported.
Officials said 3,687 individuals from northern Luzon were evacuated.
The super typhoon, called Juan in the Philippines and Megi internationally had winds of up to 140 mph. It landfall in the northern Philippines Monday, forcing the cancellation of flights in and out of the country and the suspension of school in many areas, China's state-run news service Xinhua reported.
The BBC reported one man, a local politician up for election next week, was reported missing after falling into the Buntun River.
The Philippine Star reported the country's disaster council conducted forced evacuations of residents in 35 towns of Cagayan in advance of the storm's arrival and 20 provinces were on storm alert.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said people and sea vessels were stranded in seaports because of the storm.
Reports from across the islands indicated massive power outages, trees uprooted, mudslides and road closures, Sun.Star Network Exchange said.
The National Telecommunications Commission said the typhoon may have crippled as much as 90 percent of communications facilities in Isabela and Cagayan provinces, GMANews.tv reported.
NTC spokesman Paolo Arceo said it could take up to five days to restore communications facilities.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development said it sent quick-response and social welfare teams to the affected areas and assigned thousands of volunteers to warehouse and stockpile food and non-food items.
UPI
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