Sawt Falasteen - Philippines cleans up after Typhoon Yinxing slams north coast

But while nearly 30,000 people took cover in government-run facilities in the days and hours before Yinxing made landfall, there were no reported casualties from the typhoon, which came just two weeks after a major storm killed more than 150.

Yinxing's 175 kilometres (109 miles) per hour winds knocked down power lines, tore trees from the ground and shattered windows as it slammed into the country's north coast on Thursday, the national weather agency, residents and rescuers said.

Officials reported 242.6 millimetres (0.80 ft) of rain dumped in a 24-hour window.

"Many trees were uprooted. There was also soil erosion in some areas. We are lucky they were not full-blown landslides," said Cagayan province disaster chief Rueli Rapsing, whose agency has so far reported no casualties.

In the province's Pamplona municipality, strong winds sent roofs flying through the air and residents scrambling for shelter.

"The fierce wind that we experienced last night was the strongest I've ever felt and seen in this town," 35-year-old resident Patrick Maquiraya told AFP by phone.

"The roof of the house that was being constructed in front of our home suddenly went flying."

Maquiraya said friends who sought shelter at a gymnasium had to relocate to a nearby church after strong winds shattered the building's glass windows.

A live video seen by AFP on Thursday showed fierce winds blowing merchandise from store shelves in Santa Ana town, where the typhoon made landfall.

As of 8 am Friday (0000 GMT), Typhoon Yinxing's center was estimated to be northwest of Laoag city and moving out across the South China Sea, according to the state weather agency.

Rapsing, the Cagayan disaster chief, said power lines were being restored as the province shifted into cleanup mode, with police, firemen and rescuers using excavators and other equipment to clear major roads.

Yinxing is the third storm in less than a month to threaten the Philippines after Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Trami.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.

A recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST