Typhoon leaves 2 dead in Philippines; 3,500 evacuated

A powerful typhoon that slammed into the northeastern tip of the Philippines left at least two people dead and prompted nearly 3,500 residents to flee to shelters following warnings to evacuate coastal and mountainous villages.

Typhoon Noul has weakened since making landfall Sunday afternoon in Cagayan province's coastal town of Santa Ana.

As of Monday morning, Britain's Tropical Storm Risk downgraded Noul on Monday to category four typhoon from category five.

The eye of the typhoon was 40 mile northeast of Basco, the capital town of northernmost Batanes province, packing winds of 99 miles per hour and gusts of 121 mph, said government weather forecaster Adzcar Aurelio.

Aurelio said Noul was expected to weaken further due to strong winds that will dissipate the heavy clouds around it. The typhoon is forecast to exit the Philippines by Tuesday morning, headed to southern Japan.

Two men died of electrocution in Cagayan's Appari town and nearly 3,500 were evacuated to safer grounds in Cagayan and Isabela provinces, said Norma Talosig, the regional civil defense director. Some evacuees were returning to their homes on Monday.

Cagayan is a rice- and corn-producing province. "The typhoon has moved away, but our problem so far is how to fix what was destroyed. The small houses of our poor townmates in coastal areas were badly hit," Darwin Tobias, Santa Ana's mayor, said in a radio interview. 

Tobias said some residents from his town started returning to their homes early on Monday when the rains stopped.

Despite the destruction wrought by Noul, it also brought much needed rains to rice and corn farms that had been hit by intense summer heat.

While the threat of storm surges has passed, fishermen were advised not to venture out of the country's eastern seaboard as waters remain rough, Aurelio said.

The coast guard suspended ferry services in areas affected by the typhoon, stranding more than 5,000 passengers.

About 20 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines each year. The strongest on record to make landfall, Typhoon Haiyan, devastated the central Philippines in November 2013, killing more than 7,300 people.

Wire services