Typhoon displaces thousands in Philippines

Nearly 16,000 villagers had to be evacuated. Pic/AP

Typhoon Doksuri slammed an island and lashed northern Philippine provinces with ferocious wind and rain Wednesday, displacing nearly 16,000 villagers as it blew tin roofs off rural houses, flooded low-lying villages and knocked out power, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties after the typhoon slammed into Fuga Island off Aparri town in Cagayan province, where 15,843 people were evacuated from high-risk coastal villages. Schools and workplaces were shut down as a precaution as Doksuri approached. Thousands of people in other northern provinces were also displaced by the typhoon, which has a 700-km-wide band of wind and rain.

Doksuri weakened slightly but remained dangerous and lethal with sustained winds of 175 kmph and gusts of up to 240 kmph. It was blowing over the Babuyan Islands' coastal waters on Wednesday.

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