Typhoon Nock-Ten hits Philippines, 3 people killed

Residents celebrating Christmas Day at the evacuation center take a break before Typhoon Nock-ten is expected to strike Legazpi City, Albay province, central Philippines, December 25, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MANILA - Typhoon Nock-Ten is battering provinces south of Manila, leaving at least three people dead, police and local officials said on Monday.

Al Francis Bichara, governor of the Albay province in southeastern Luzon, said the dead included a 57-year-old woman who was killed by a fallen concrete wall and a couple, a 73-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife, who drowned in a river.

Transport services, schools and offices in the province were suspended, Bichara said, adding the entire province and neighboring provinces were also without power after being hit by the typhoon.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has yet to come up with the number of casualties, saying the typhoon is still hitting other provinces as it slowly moves west-northwest of Luzon at 20 kilometers per hour.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in its 2 pm bulletin that the typhoon has slightly weakened, packing maximum winds of up to 130 Kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 215 kph.

NDRRMC also said on Monday that 77,560 families or 383,097 persons were preemptively evacuated from Calabarzon, Bicol Region, Mimaropa and Eastern Visayas in anticipation of the typhoon.

The disaster agency said Typhoon Nock-Ten is expected to exit the country on Wednesday morning.