Posted on 07/19/2014 1:12:02 AM PDT by nickcarraway
China's southern regions are bracing for a powerful typhoon that has ripped through the Philippines, killing dozens and forcing more than 400,000 people to flee their homes.
The official death toll from Typhoon Rammasun has climbed to 38, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Thursday.
Ten people have been injured and eight are missing.
Typhoon Rammasun made landfall in the Philippines on Tuesday, just eight months after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated parts of the country in November 2013.
The eye of Typhoon Rammasun passed south of Manila after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts.
Disaster officials are still assessing damage but Quezon province appears to have borne the brunt of Rammasun, which intensified into a category-three typhoon as it crossed the Philippines.
The number of evacuated residents had reached 409,000, Wilma Cabrera, the Philippine Social Welfare Assistant Secretary, said.
AUDIO: Philippines begins clean-up after Typhoon Rammasun (ABC News) Many of those forced from their homes were in the eastern province of Albay, the first to be hit by the typhoon.
Most schools remain closed in the capital and southern Luzon provinces.
Tropical Storm Risk, which monitors cyclones, downgraded Rammasun to a category-one storm on Wednesday.
But weather authorities are still warning of heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding in some areas of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Australian Government says it is providing urgent humanitarian assistance to victims of Typhoon Rammasun, known locally as Glenda.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australia will offer emergency relief supplies, including family survival kits containing sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets and emergency shelters.
The kits will be delivered to more than 1,400 families through the Philippines Red Cross.
Ms Bishop says health and dignity kits will also be provided to two thousand women through the United Nations Population Fund.
Typhoon Rammasun is now churning across the South China Sea heading toward parts of southern China and Vietnam.
China's National Meteorological Center is forecasting the typhoon to make landfall in the coastal areas of Guangdong and Hainan provinces early on Friday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese authorities have launched an emergency response for the nearing typhoon, which is expected to bring several days of heavy rainstorms to the southern regions, Xinhua said.
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