Typhoon toll rises

Typhoon toll rises to 23 as RP mops up

PHILIPPINES: The death toll from the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year rose to 23 on Friday, as rescue workers rushed to clear landslides and send food and medicine to isolated areas, disaster officials said.

Thousands of people were displaced by typhoon Mindulle, which packed winds of 190 km per hour and gusts of up to 230 km per hour as it swept past the northern region of Luzon island.

Crop and infrastructure damage was estimated at US$9.8 million, mostly in rice- and corn-growing areas in Cagayan Valley region, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo boarded a rubber navy boat on Friday to distribute relief goods to nearly 200,000 residents in Cagayan province, which bore the brunt of the storm.

"I want immediate measures to restore agricultural capacity," said Arroyo, in a statement she read before inspecting villages affected by typhoon in Cagayan province. -- Reuters