26 Killed, 100,000 Flee as Typhoon Hits Philippines

At least 26 people were killed and more than 100,000 others fled their homes Friday as Typhoon Bebinca slammed into the northern Philippine island of Luzon and roared through Manila, the capital, officials and radio reports said.

The storm triggered landslides and flooded many areas. Schools, government offices and many shops and banks were closed. Packing winds up to 95 mph, the storm was about 105 miles west of Manila midday Friday, moving toward southern China, the weather bureau said.

In Laguna province, four mountain climbers drowned as they tried to cross a swollen river, Gov. Joey Lina said. They were part of a group of more than 100 climbers trapped by the river. The other climbers were later rescued by soldiers and police, civil defense officials said. Elsewhere in the province, three people, including two children, were killed in a landslide and two others drowned in a river, Lina said.

Ten people were killed in landslides in the city of Antipolo, Manila and Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya provinces, and five drowned in the two provinces.

In Quezon City, a falling tree killed a man. A small radio transmitter tower collapsed on a home in the city of Marikina, impaling one man and injuring his 8-year-old daughter, radio reports said.

More than 10,500 people were evacuated because of flooding in suburban Taguig and four provinces east of Manila, authorities said.

At least 1,300 commuters were stranded at a port southeast of Manila because ferries were not allowed to leave.

Several Philippine Airlines flights were diverted to the central Philippines.

Powerful winds and big waves slammed at least seven barges into a sea wall along Manila Bay.

Bebinca arrived a week after Typhoon Xangsane swept through the northern Philippines and left 40 people dead, 249 injured and 66 missing.