Typhoon leaves four dead in Philippines

LIGAO, Philippines: A powerful typhoon left at least four people dead and eight missing as it crossed the Philippine archipelago on Monday, spoiling the Christmas holidays with strong winds, heavy rains and destructive flooding.

Nock-Ten made landfall on the eastern island province of Catanduanes with gusts of 235 kilometres (146 miles) an hour on Christmas Day, ravaging the Bicol region and surrounding areas before moving west across the country.

A couple perished in a flood while an elderly man was crushed to death by a falling wall, the governor of Albay province, Al Bichara, told local media.

Another person was killed and two more were injured when the storm toppled a power line in Quezon province, electrocuting them, a police report said.

An anchored ferry went down off the coastal province of Batangas on Monday with eight crewmen still missing, said coastguard officer Joy Villegas.

Two people also died after suffering heart attacks during the storm but it was unclear if those deaths were directly related to the typhoon, local government reports said.