Philippines cleans up after Typhoon Nari

Major clean-up operation underway after Typhoon Nari pounds the archipelago's north as authorities issue storm warning for the east of the country.

MANILA // A major clean-up operation was under way in the Philippines on Sunday after Typhoon Nari pounded the archipelago’s north, leaving 13 dead, as authorities issued a storm warning for the east of the country.

The military, along with civilian relief workers, struggled to clear roads of toppled trees and power pylons as they rushed to restore vital lifelines wrecked by Saturday’s storm.

“The general situation is getting better, but it would take some time to clear the roads of fallen trees and (electrical) posts,” the civil defence office spokesman Reynaldo Balido said.

He said power and telecommunication facilities had been restored in affected areas, although some cities and towns in five provinces on Luzon, the country’s most populous island, were without electricity.

Typhoon Nari, the 19th storm to hit the disaster-prone country, tore into the country’s north-east coast early on Saturday and cut a westward path through the farming regions of Luzon.

Thirteen people were killed as the storm ripped off roofs of homes and buildings, toppling trees and triggering flash floods and landslides before blowing away into the South China Sea.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Sunday that some agricultural areas remained inundated, although the waters were subsiding.

“The sun is already out, and we should be able to normalise in a few days,” Mr Balido said.

Many of the more than 43,000 people displaced by the storm had also begun returning home as the government lifted all storm warnings there, he said.

However, the state weather bureau issued a warning for the country’s east. It said Tropical Storm Wipha was 1,460 kilometres away and could reach Philippine seas by Monday.

The bureau added that Wipha was expected to move northward and not directly hit the Philippines but Mr Balido said authorities were not taking any chances.

“We will remain on alert, and continue to take precautions.”

The Philippines are hit by some 20 typhoons each year.

Last month, heavy monsoon rains worsened by Typhoon Usagi also pounded Luzon, unleashing deadly floods that killed 30.

* Agence France-Presse