Super Typhoon Haima Hits Philippines Killing Four People

Super Typhoon Haima hit the Philippines killing at least four people in the north of the country.

Haima, which brought sustained winds of up to 140mph, made landfall over the northern province of Cagayan on October 19.

Nearly 100,000 people were evacuated from threatened areas as Typhoon Haima approached.

Image source University of Colorado

There was widespread damage overnight, with homes destroyed and power lines brought down.

According to Filipino authorities, two of those killed were buried in a landslide, and two others buried in a shanty town in a mountainous region.

Experts had feared the storm could prove as destructive as the catastrophic super typhoon Haiyan, which claimed more than 7,350 lives in 2013.

The Philippines endures around 20 major storms every year, many of them deadly.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who was in Beijing on a state visit, had said he prayed the Philippines would be spared but that they were “ready”.

“We only pray we be spared the destruction such as previous times. Everything has been deployed.”

Haima was upgraded to a super typhoon just before it hit in Penablanca, a town in Cagayan province, around 23:00 local time on October 19.

On October 20, there were reports of damage across a wide area.

Haima, known as Lawin locally, had a weather band 500 miles wide, and authorities had warned the public to expect fierce winds and storm surges up to 16 feet or higher.

It is the second typhoon to hit the Philippines in a week, after Sarika struck on October 16. At least one person was killed in that storm, and three people are still missing.

Typhoon Haima is now moving out across the South China Sea towards Hong Kong and southern China.