BREAKING NEWS - From Bangkokpost.com

Typhoon hits Philippines, 7 dead

Manila (dpa) - At least seven people were killed as Typhoon Xangsane whipped the Philippines Thursday, triggering widespread flooding, massive power outages and disruptions in public transportation, officials said.

More than 7,000 people were stranded in ports around the country after the Coast Guard banned all sea travel while all domestic and international flights were cancelled because of heavy rains and strong winds caused by Xangsane.

School classes at all levels and government work were cancelled in the affected areas, including Manila and nearby northern provinces. Most private offices also sent their employees home early.

The weather bureau said Thursday that Xangsane weakened after it made landfall overnight in the eastern region of Bicol but was still packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour.

The storm was moving north-west at 19 kilometres per hour and was expected to cut through Manila and the northern provinces within the day.

Three people were killed in Quezon province, east of Manila, after they were pinned by fallen trees, according to the social welfare office.

In the central province of Antique, where about 100 residents have been trapped in their homes in a flooded village since Wednesday, at least three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were also killed.

"We have so far confirmed that one died from drowning and another from hypothermia," Antique Vice Governor Rhodora Cadiao said. "The third fatality is an electric lineman who was killed while trying to repair an electric line."

In the suburban city of Quezon in metropolitan Manila, a housewife was electrocuted when she touched a live wire while attempting to save the roof of her shanty house, which winds ripped off.

Anthony Golez, spokesman for the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), urged the public to stay home.

"We will experience more difficult times as we go to the afternoon," he said.

In Manila, many areas were flooded while the capital's overhead commuter train system was shut down as a precautionary measure. Most communities were also without electricity.

The NDCC said power was also cut off in many areas in the eastern and central Philippines while communication lines were bogged down because of Xangsane's onslaught. Some roads were cut off by toppled trees and landslides.