Two killed as typhoon continues to lash Philippines

At least two people died of hypothermia as typhoon Hagupit (local name Ruby) continued to pummel the Philippines, the country's state disaster management agency said Sunday.

In its latest report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) identified two fatalities from central Philippine province of Iloilo, Xinhua reported.

Over 195,500 families or 902,000 individuals were affected by Hagupit. More than 896,000 of them were being served inside and outside the evacuation centres.

Hagupit, packing maximum sustained winds of 140 km per hour near the centre and gustiness of up to 170 kph, is expected to make its third landfall in Sibuyan Island before dawn Monday after it made first and second landfalls in Dolores, eastern Samar Saturday night and Cataingan, Masbate Sunday, the state weather forecasting agency said. It is expected to move west northwest at 10 kph.

NDRRMC said that 183 domestic flights have been cancelled and five airports were closed due to bad weather.

Major telecommunication networks were down in some parts of Leyte and eastern Samar in central Philippines, while 11 provinces in three regions were experiencing power outages, it added.