Mangkhut claims first victims in Philippines

Super Typhoon Mangkhut smashed through the Philippines yesterday, as the biggest storm to hit the region this year claimed the lives of its first victims and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Roughly four million people -- a quarter of whom live on a few dollars a day -- were in the path of destruction that the storm slashed through the northern tip of Luzon island, leaving at least eight dead. “As we go forward, this number will go higher,” Ricardo Jalad, head of the national civil defence office, told reporters, referring to the death toll.

As the powerful storm left the Southeast Asian archipelago and barrelled towards densely populated Hong Kong and southern China, Philippine authorities began sending search teams to remote areas hit by communication and power outages.