MANILA, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- At least one person is dead and six are missing as Typhoon Koppu continues to pummel the northern Philippines.
Nearly 16,500 people were evacuated as the massive typhoon, with winds up to 125 mph, made landfall. The storm, locally named Lando, made landfall about 1 a.m. Sunday and has almost remained stationary, the country's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
The storm has washed out at least 14 roads and 10 bridges and power outages were reported across the region. A total of 5,580 passengers, 78 vessels and 48 motorized bancas, among other water vessls, are stranded due to rough sea condition, officials said. Dozens of flights were canceled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded at several local airports.
Uncertain of our flight back to Manila because of #lando #koppu stuck at Mactan International Airport. pic.twitter.com/UQ99cPL65k
— Sonnie Santos (@AskSonnie) October 18, 2015Alexander Pama, head of the government disaster agency, said locals have fled from areas in the typhoon's path, including from towns prone to flash floods and landslides.
Authorities said local crops, including bananas, coconuts, rice and corn, have been destroyed. Roofs have been torn off businesses and residences have been flattened. Rain is expected to fall for at least the next 24 hours, heightening the chances for more damage.
Accumulated rainfall the past 6 hours in Luzon #LandoPH pic.twitter.com/fWs1Pja98C
— Mahar Lagmay (@nababaha) October 18, 2015
