Typhoon Noul kills 2 in Philippines

Heavy rains and strong winds flattened houses on coastal areas as typhoon Noul (local name Dodong) crashed into Cagayan, killing two people and prompting more than 3,000 residents to move to shelters, Manila Bulletin reported.

Retired Navy Vice Admiral Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said a 74-year-old man and his 46-year-old son were both electrocuted while fortifying the roof of their house in Barangay Mabanguc, Aparri.

Pama said more than 3,000 people were evacuated from their homes in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan but they all started to go home as of Sunday.

Another 300 people have returned to villages near the slopes of Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon, provincial disaster council head Raden Dimaano told AFP.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph and gusts of up to 220 kph upon its landfall Sunday in the rice- and corn-producing province of Cagayan, the typhoon has weakened with maximum sustained winds of 160 kph and gustiness of 195 kph as it crossed the Batanes Group of Islands on Monday morning after hitting land, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

It is expected to move north at 19 kph and head to southern Japan by Tuesday, the weather bureau said.