MANILA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A strong typhoon lashed the
southern part of the Philippines' main Luzon island overnight,
dumping heavy rains, toppling power lines and leaving at least
12 fishermen missing on Monday, disaster officials said.
Typhoon Molave, packing 125 kilometre (77 miles) per hour
wind speeds and gusts of up to 150 kph, caused flooding and
prompted forced evacuation orders for tens of thousands of
people.
There was no immediate report of casualties, but 12
fishermen at sea failed to return to Catanduanes province off
the country's eastern coast.
"They have been missing for 24 hours. They were supposed to
come back home yesterday before noon," Gremil Alexis Naz of the
Civil Defence office told DZMM radio, adding that search and
rescue operations would be conducted.
Molave, the 17th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year,
follows Tropical Storm Saudel, which last week caused widespread
flooding in Quezon province in the Calabarzon region, southeast
of the capital Manila. In Albay province, 15,000 evacuees were allowed to return to
their homes but many areas remained inundated and without power,
Governor Alfrancis Bichara told DZMM radio.
Storm warning levels remain in force in the capital and
nearby provinces.
About half of the Philippines' 107 million population live
in the Luzon region. The country is hit by an average 20
typhoons each year.
The agriculture agency said affected regions were able to
harvest crops from some 133,292 hectares of farmland before the
typhoon arrived, saving an estimated 530,593 tonnes of unmilled
rice from destruction.
Molave should exit the Philippines on Tuesday morning and is
headed towards Vietnam, where Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on
Monday issued an urgent warning to provinces and cities in its
path to prepare.
Vietnam's government said the provinces need to ready plans
for evacuating nearly 1.3 million people.