World

Typhoon Babs Slams Philippines

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 22, 1998 / 10:08 AM EDT / CBS

At least eleven people died and tens of thousands fled their homes as Typhoon Babs ravaged the Philippines Thursday with winds gusting to more than 125 mph, officials said.

The typhoon triggered floods and landslides, while knocking out power and communications in a wide area of Bicol, and parts of the Visayas regions, on the southern tip of the country's most populated island, relief agencies said.

"We estimate that 50,000 families, or about 250,000 people, were affected by the typhoon, and most of them have been evacuated," Philippine Red Cross spokesman Ed Angco told Reuters.

The typhoon shut down Manila, where schools, government offices, and most private companies were closed. Financial markets suspended trading and may remain closed on Friday.

"We don't have the full extent of damage because many roads in the provinces are submerged under water," he said.

Babs' strong winds knocked down trees and power lines, leaving many remote central areas without communications. Authorities appealed for help from amateur radio operators.

Twenty-five gold miners were trapped when a mountain tunnel they were working in collapsed at the height of the typhoon and rescue operations were under way to free them, police Colonel Reynaldo Rafal said.

President Joseph Estrada placed three central provinces under a state of calamity - an administrative measure which empowers the government to fix ceilings on prices of commodities and commandeer vehicles for relief work.

An estimated 50,000 people took shelter in schools, churches, and government buildings in Camarines Sur, one of the hardest hit areas in Bicol.

Four of the fatalities drowned, two were buried in a landslide while another two were crushed to death when a bus overturned on a slippery road. The other fatalities were a man who died of hypothermia, another who was hit by a falling tree and a child who died in an evacuation centre.

"I am asking all our countrymen living near rivers to prepare so that we can prevent any tragedy," Estrada said.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said he might order the forced evacuation of villagers who refused to leave their homes.

"You know how our people are. They do not want to leave their houses. They'd rather protect their property. But when the waters come, they will run just the same. They might as well leave now," Mercado told reporters.

"This is the critical period when we have to save lives."

Babs was the second typhoon to hit the storm-prone Philippines in a week and the ninth this year. Typhoon Zeb killed at least 70 in the country last week before sweeping out to Taiwan and Japan, where it killed about 40 more.

The civil defense office said it could not make a full estimate of the extent of damage to agriculture and property until the weather cleared.