The Typhoon Bebinca death toll in the Philippines has reached 40 people, disaster officials said Sunday, as reports trickled in from areas where communications have been reestablished.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said search and rescue operations were continuing for at least 13 missing people.
It said many of those who died were swept away by floodwaters or buried beneath landslides after heavy rains loosened soil in many hilly areas.
Some 189,680 people were moved to safer locations after the typhoon caused heavy flooding and destroyed houses in several provinces.
More than 4,000 families in the capital Manila and outlying suburbs were still at evacuation centers, although the floodwaters have receded in those areas.
Some provinces north of Manila and south of the main Luzon island were still submerged, the NDCC said.
Villages along the coastline of Laguna de Bay east of Manila were still under 1.5 meters (five feet) of water, it said.
Damages have reached an estimated 412.516 million pesos (8.25 million dollars), with agricultural land and infrastructure bearing the brunt of Bebinca, which was heading west of Vigan in northern Ilocos Sur province after leaving the country on Saturday.
The government's weather bureau said the typhoon was expected to move in the general direction of southern China.
Typhoon Bebinca struck the Philippines on Thursday and Friday, less than a week after tropical storm Xangsane lashed the country, leaving at least 41 dead with 248 injured and dozens still missing -- MANILA (AFP)
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