Thousands flee as fourth typhoon in a month hits Philippines

MANILA

Thousands of people sought shelter and ports shut down in the Philippines on Sunday, officials said, as the disaster-weary nation was struck by another typhoon, the fourth in less than a month.

Typhoon Toraji hit near Dilasag town, about 220 kilometers northeast of the capital, Manila, the national weather agency said.

"We're getting hit with strong winds and heavy rain. Some trees are being toppled and power has been cut since yesterday," Merwina Pableo, civil defense chief of Dinalungan town near Dilasag, told AFP.

Rescuers said around 7,000 people were moved from coastal areas as well as flood-prone and landslide-prone areas in Aurora and Isabela, the first two provinces to be struck before Toraji ploughed inland to the mountainous interior of the main island of Luzon.

In all, the government ordered 2,500 villages to be evacuated on Nov. 10, though the national disaster office does not have the total number of evacuees as of Monday.

The national weather agency warned of severe winds and "intense to torrential" rainfall exceeding 200 millimeters across the north of the country, along with a "moderate to high risk of a storm surge," giant waves up to three meters high on the north coast.

Schools and government offices were shut in areas expected to be hit hardest by the latest typhoon.