Typhoon 'Pepeng' hits Philippine coast

MANILA, Philippines (AP)– The government's chief forecaster says typhoon 'Pepeng' (international name: Parma) has made landfall in the northern Philippines.

The storm toppled trees and power lines in at least two provinces with powerful winds and driving rain, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

The head of the government weather bureau, Nathaniel Cruz, says the typhoon slammed into Cagayan province at mid afternoon Saturday.

Officials say the threat of another major flooding disaster in the capital has eased because Parma is tracking farther north than earlier predicted.

A Sept. 26 storm caused the worst flooding in the capital in 40 years and killed at least 288 people.

The Philippines is still reeling from a Sept. 26 typhoon that caused the worst flooding in 40 years and killed 288 people. Officials said Typhoon Parma, was no longer headed for the same heavily populated regions devastated by the earlier storm.

But heavy rain was falling across a swath of the main island of Luzon that is still flooded, and violent winds were battering far-north provinces.

Trees were uprooted and power pylons toppled in the provincial capital of Tuguegarao, local government official Bonifacio Cuarteros told The Associated Press by telephone. In neighboring Isabella, gusting winds knocked a rider off his motorcycle in the street, and trees and billboards were also blown down.

"We pray that we won't have a worse outcome, but with this kind of situation, we cannot really say," Cuarteros said.

Parma was due to strike the Philippines' northeastern tip sometime after dark Saturday, packing sustained winds that had weakened slightly overnight to 175 kph, the national weather bureau said.

Senior forecaster Prisco Nilo warned that heavy rains could trigger landslides and flooding, and strong winds could also create tidal surges "similar to a tsunami" along the eastern coast.

Earlier, chief forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said the risk of a new deluge in Manila had lessened because the storm had changed course, but said it was still dangerous in the north.

"It is good news, especially for those whose houses are still under water," Cruz said. "But kph winds can still uproot trees and destroy houses and blown down roofs."

Taiwan issued a storm warning and began moving people out of villages in the southern county of Kaohsiung, said local official Lin Chun-chieh. Flash flooding from the last typhoon to hit the Kaohsiung killed about 700 people in August.

"The typhoon could bring torrential rain and trigger flash flooding, so government agencies should be prepared," Vice Premier Eric Chu was quoted as saying by the government-owned Central News Agency.

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said in a statement that the military would be on standby to help relief efforts if necessary.

Typhoon Ketsana last month damaged the homes of more than 3 million people in the Philippines. It went on to hit other Southeast Asian countries, killing 99 in Vietnam, 14 in Cambodia and 16 in Laos.

It was part of more than a week of destruction in the Asia-Pacific region that has claimed more than 1,500 lives so far: an earthquake Wednesday in Indonesia; a tsunami Tuesday in the Samoan islands; and Typhoon Ketsana across Southeast Asia.