Philippine tropical storm Hagupit kills 23, leaves a million in shelters

Typhoon Hagupit weakened into a tropical storm Monday after leaving at least 23people dead and forcing more than a million people into shelters. But despite the loss of life, the storm spared most of a central Philippine region still reeling from last year's Super Typhoon Haiyan that left thousands dead.

Even with the dowgrading of Hagupit, Manila and nearby provinces braced Monday for high winds as the storm made landfall on the resort town of San Juan in Batangas province, about 60 miles south of the Philippine capital. It had maximum sustained winds of 53 miles per hour and gusts of 62 miles per hour.

Although considerably weaker, the storm remained potentially dangerous and could still generate storm surges that could overwhelm coastal villages, forecasters said.

More than 2,000 villagers huddled in the safety of a public gymnasium as torrential rains pounded San Juan, a low-lying and flood-prone town locally popular for its beach resorts.

"It's really scary if you've watched what happened during Haiyan," said Amy de Guzman, a 43-year-old mother of three. "I hope the storm blows away from here as far as possible."

While officials expressed relief that the typhoon had not caused major damage in Tacloban and other cities that were devastated by Haiyan, they warned that it was still on course to barrel into the southern tip of the main northern island of Luzon where Manila is located, before starting to blow away Tuesday into the South China Sea.

Hagupit — Filipino for "smash" or "lash" — which made landfall in eastern Samar late Saturday, was moving slowly at 6 miles per hour and was dumping heavy rain that could possibly trigger landslides and flash floods.

Traumatized by the death and destruction from Typhoon Haiyan last year, more than 1 million people fled to emergency shelters and safer grounds.

"We saw that with preparation and being alert we prevented tragedy and harm, we took our countrymen away from harm," Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas told a televised government disaster meeting in Samar. "It is sad to hear news of deaths, but this is very low, way below what the potential was."

Hagupit was moving across a string of island provinces and would be near the bustling capital, Manila, by early Tuesday, according to government forecasters.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said more than 5,000 residents of a shantytown on the edge of Manila Bay have been evacuated due to possible storm surges.

"We've prepared and trained for this," Estrada said, adding his greatest fear was widespread flooding. Metropolitan Manila has a population of more than 12 million people.

Like villagers in the central Philippines, Estrada said Manila residents moved safety before Hagupit arrived because they remembered the destruction Haiyan caused  last year.

Proceso Alcala, the farm minister, said initial reports from areas where Hagupit had passed placed crop damage, most of it rice, at more than $7.17 million, mostly rice.  

Mayor Emiliana Villacarillo of Dolores, in Eastern Samar, the area where Hagupit first made landfall, said almost 100 percent of ricelands in the town were submerged by floodwaters.

Wire services