Filipinos hunker down as typhoon hits

CABANATUAN CITY, Philippines, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Typhoon Parma rolled across Luzon in the Philippine Islands late Saturday with heavy rains and winds gusting above 100 miles per hour, the government reported.

Parma veered away from Manila, sparing the capital a direct hit, but was causing flooding and power outages in rural Cagayan province.

Residents were urged by the government to remain in shelters for the time being as a precaution against flash-flooding and landslides.

CNN said there was concern Parma would cause another round of flooding in the Manila area similar to the devastation caused by Typhoon Ketsana. Parma is predicted to dump 8-20 inches of rain in the already water-logged area.

"We had a traumatic experience when we had Ketsana," one Manila resident told CNN. "We don't want that to happen again."

Philippine troops and international aid agencies were already on the move to assist in the aftermath, and the country was under a state of "national calamity."