MANILA - TROPICAL storm Lekima killed nine people and left another missing in the Philippines after unleashing landslides, floods and big waves, rescuers said on Sunday.

The weather bureau here lowered all cyclone alerts on the main island of Luzon as the storm dissipated into a weaker tropical depression in the South China Sea.

A landslide buried two houses in a mountain village near the town of Hingyon late on Saturday, killing eight people, the civil defence office here said.

One other family member was missing while a nine year-old boy was injured, it said in an updated report.

Meanwhile, a military rescue unit recovered the body of a drowning victim in northern Manila, it said.

The storm swept across Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 65 kmh on Saturday, shutting down ferry services, swelling dams and rivers, and unleashing floods that displaced some 3,400 people, the government agency said.

Huge waves also smashed onto the Sarangani coast of the main southern island of Mindanao, damaging 29 houses in the village of San Nicolas.

Ferry services between Luzon and the central islands resumed Sunday, but small fishing boats and other craft were warned to stay in port due to big waves.

'One resident was also brought to a nearby hospital after he was found half-buried in mud and rainwater.'

With winds of up to 55 kmh, Lekima has moved onto the South China Sea and was estimated to be 670km west of Zambales in north-western Philippines by Monday, and moving westwards at 19 kmh towards the coast of Vietnam.

On Saturday, Lekima weakened after making landfall on the main Luzon island, but brought heavy rains to the country.

The weather bureau has lowered all storm alerts, but advised people in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes to take extra caution against flashfloods and landslides.

Mr Anthony Golez, deputy chief of the civil defence office, said most roads in the northern Philippines remained closed, hampering efforts by soldiers to deliver food, water and warm blankets to nearly 1,500 people evacuated in Kalinga and Ifugao provinces. -- REUTERS, AFP

Is this article useful to you?