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Typhoon Rammasun Kills 10 in Philippines


A worker uses an electric saw to remove a huge tree that fell on top of a car during the onslaught of Typhoon Rammasun, (locally named Glenda) that hit Makati city in Manila, July 16, 2014.
A worker uses an electric saw to remove a huge tree that fell on top of a car during the onslaught of Typhoon Rammasun, (locally named Glenda) that hit Makati city in Manila, July 16, 2014.

Typhoon Rammasun has left the Philippines and is heading for northern Vietnam or China's Hainan Island, with a possibility it could pick up speed as it crosses the South China Sea.

Rammasun, the first typhoon of the season, made landfall in the Philippines Wednesday with wind gusts up to 250 kilometers per hour, killing at least 10 people and knocking out power to a number of areas.

The storm damaged roofs, brought down trees, and drenched residential areas of the capital, Manila.

Several people died when hit by falling trees or power poles, and at least three people died in Lucena city when a wall collapsed on them. Power is out in a number of areas.

Some people are missing, raising the likelihood that the death toll could rise. More than 370,000 people in six provinces moved into emergency shelters to ride out the storm.

Ahead of the storm, dozens of domestic flights were canceled and schools closed. Shipping lanes were also shut down, stranding hundreds of ferry passengers in ports.

Rammasun, which means "God of Thunder" in Thai, strengthened overnight Monday from a tropical storm to a typhoon.

About 20 major storms hit the Philippines every year. Parts of the country are still recovering from last year's Typhoon Haiyan, which killed over 6,300 people with its tsunami-like sea surges.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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