One of the strongest storms to hit this year left chaos and death in its wake as it cuts a destructive path through Asia. There are landslides and torrential rain in the Philippines; debris and fallen trees in Hong Kong; and millions of displaced people in China as "Mangkhut" bore down on these countries.
The Philippines begin to pick up the pieces after Typhoon "Mangkhut" cut a vicious, destructive path through the main island of Luzon. Trees were uprooted and a landslide occurred in the town of Itogon, in the mountainous regions of Benguet, Asia One reports. A total of 65 reported deaths came in, with more feared to add to the number as rescuers try to unearth more bodies from the landslide.
Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana of the Philippine National Police said that the outlook was looking grim. In a report also relayed by AFP, 43 other people remained missing and 155,000 people still sought shelter among each other in evacuation centers. They remain in the centers even two days after the storm had passed.
Hong Kong had to raise its highest-ever warning for the year as Typhoon "Mangkhut" registered as a 'No. 10' on their warning system. The storm also left destruction in its wake with broken windows, roofs were torn clean off from homes, and tower blocks in danger of toppling over. International flights at the Hong Kong International Airport was also suspended even as the streets were flooded by storm surges measuring 12 ft, as well as torrential rainfall.
In China's Guangdong Province, Express UK reported that at least two people were killed during the storm's destructive landfall. More than 100,000 people have been displaced from their homes, distributed in 3,777 temporary shelters put up by the government.
Flooding and landslides were feared in some provinces in China, with about 1,500 residents taken to temporary shelters to seek safety from the storm. Typhoon "Mangkhut" brought along winds with speeds of 230 kilometers per hour, with homes and even shopping malls not safe from the torrential rains that brought flooding to the streets.
Even Macau was not spared from the wrath of the storm, as it became shut down as the storm threatened. Macau remained in recovery mode until Monday as severe flooding forced about 42 casinos to either shut down completely for cleaning or resume operations until the debris and everything the storm brought down was cleaned up.
