Typhoon Rocks Philippines; at Least 14 Killed

The strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in nine years swept across the central islands today with 150 m.p.h. winds, killing at least 14 people, sinking ships and forcing 240,000 people to flee their homes.

The navy said a merchant ship with 25 crew members was missing off Mindanao island and that 16 boats had sunk off Cebu island. Three sailors were reported missing in the Cebu sinkings.

At least 17 people, including six Americans, were trapped on an oil rig off Palawan island after 68 other workers were evacuated, said Maj. Antonio Babijes, chief of the Manila Rescue Coordinating Center.

He said officials asked U.S. Air Force and Navy authorities to assist in evacuating the rig after a rescue boat was forced back by rough seas. The rig is operated by Alcorn Production-Philippines Inc.

After wreaking considerable destruction in the midsection of the nation of islands, the so-called “super typhoon” passed into the South China Sea in the evening, sparing populous metropolitan Manila and U.S. military bases in the northern Philippines its fury.

The storm smashed into Leyte from the Pacific Ocean with sustained winds of 150 m.p.h.

The typhoon then raked rice, coconut and sugar farms in Cebu, Negros, Panay and Palawan islands. Its winds weakened to 100 m.p.h. before it moved out into the South China Sea.

Relief agencies said two people were killed in Panay island, seven in Negros and five in Leyte. Most of the fatalities either drowned or were hit by flying debris.

Officials said downed communications and power networks prevented a full assessment of damage and casualties, and they feared the death toll would go up.