Manila: More than 60 people were feared dead, including 20 identified Wednesday, after Typhoon Conson, locally known as Basyang, ravaged a swathe of northern and southern Luzon from late Tuesday night.
The typhoon toppled homes, trees, and power lines, swept fishermen and coastal residents into the sea; and rendered a Luzon-wide power outage that kept Metro Manila in darkness for more than 24 hours, officials said.
Michelle Alegre, aged 2, and her mother Myrna, 35, were both hit by a fallen tree in southern suburban Cavite. Darenz Cabrera, 4, was hit by a heavy fallen mango tree in Batangas, southern Luzon. Bendenita Redota, 90, drowned in Camarines Norte, Bicol, southern Luzon, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said.
Some 51 fishermen on board three motorised fishing vessels were presumed dead because by press time they had failed to return home since July 12, in Catanduanes, northern Luzon, the eye of the storm, the NDCC said.
By press time six crewmen had not yet returned since their fishing vessel Alicia capsized off Mariveles, Bataan, also in northern Luzon, one of Conson's badly hit areas, the NDCC said.
Major destruction
Conson's maximum gusts of 120km for an hour late Tuesday night changed the monsoon's trajectory from upper northern Luzon to central Luzon, resulting in major destruction stretching from metropolitan Manila down to southern Luzon which had earlier been safe from the storm.
"The roof of our house was opened up," said Rudy Perez, 40, who fled his job to join his wife and three children and try to protect their home. Several homes in low-lying areas near rivers and seas were almost swept away. But only 752 people or 137 families were placed in evacuation centres, the department of social welfare said.
Roads and bridges remained closed in several areas in northern Luzon. Some 5,000 people were stranded in southern Luzon because the Philippine Coast Guard grounded 167 cargoes and 32 shipping vessels nationwide.
Flights were not yet resumed as of yesterday, keeping airports nationwide in disarray. President Benigno Aquino held an emergency meeting.
