WORLD BRIEFING / THE PHILIPPINES

Typhoon Parma caused widespread flooding and landslides that buried at least two families in the Philippines, then hung threateningly off the coast, drenching the country’s north as well as Taiwan.

At least 16 people died when Parma hit the main island of Luzon on Saturday, though the capital, Manila -- still awash in floodwaters from a storm barely a week earlier -- was spared a new disaster.

In Benguet province, a family of five, including a 1-year-old boy, died when their home was buried in a landslide, said police Senior Supt. Loreto Espineli. Seven people, including another family of five, were buried in a nearby village, he said.

Four people died in other provinces, most of them drowning after being swept away by floodwaters, officials said.