Two people were killed after a powerful storm grazed the country’s northeastern tip over the weekend, civil defence officials said on Monday.
Many of the people who evacuated from the storm’s path started to return home late last night, after Noul -- the fourth and strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year -- whipped coastal villages with wind gusts of up to 220 kilometres per hour.
Authorities said they were not expecting significant casualties after most heeded pre-emptive evacuation orders issued from Friday.
“People listened to our warnings. They’ve learned their lesson from past storms,” Norma Talosig, civil defence director for the northeastern region, told AFP.
A 70-year-old man and his 45-year-old son died after being electrocuted while fixing their house in Aparri town last morning as Typhoon Noul started to bear down.
The state weather bureau said the winds were strong enough to stir storm surges, uproot trees, blow roofs off houses, topple lamp posts and destroy crops.
But Talosig said there have been no immediate reports of heavy damage.
In the coastal town of Santa Ana, strong winds broke power lines and peeled off palm thatch roofs, police officer Melvic de Castro told AFP.
“We went around town telling people that it was best to evacuate ahead,” he said, adding there were no reported casualties in the town.
Still, up to 700 people did not leave their seaside huts until the winds started to blow violently on Sunday, he added.
At least five towns were without power, the National Grid Corporation said.