At least 17 killed as typhoon 'Frank' sweeps through RP

MANILA, Philippines - Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 17 people in the southern Philippines on Saturday as Typhoon Fengshen gathered strength, causing widespread damage.

Ten people drowned after the Rifao River overflowed its banks and swept away three houses in a riverside village in South Upi in southern Maguindanao province, provincial administrator Norie Unas said. Five others were missing.

"The water is subsiding, but our fear is that there are signs of rains upstream," Unas said by telephone from Talayan, where a flash flood killed four people and swept away farm animals.

At least 40 people who were trapped on an island in the middle of the river were rescued by police and soldiers, who managed to link a rope between the island and the river bank, town councilor Justina Betita said.

In nearby Cotabato city, a 50-year-old man and his 10-year-old grandson were killed when a landslide buried their hillside shanty, Mayor Muslimin Sema said.

In neighboring Cotabato province, authorities recovered the body of a farmer, one of three people reported missing.

Officials said neck-deep flood waters had risen further due to a high tide, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 people in Sultan Kudarat township in southern Shariff Kabunsuan province, near Cotabato city.

Officials ordered the evacuation of more than 117,000 people from areas prone to floods and landslides in central Albay province. But many returned home by midday Saturday after the typhoon missed the area.

Chief government weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said the typhoon had gained strength late Saturday afternoon and was packing sustained winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and gusts of up to 122 mph (195 kph). It was forecast to move northwest toward Mindoro island.

"It slowed down but that helped it gain strength," Cruz said. "For the public that is bad news."

He said it was enhancing the seasonal monsoon, dumping large volumes of rain and flooding wide areas of the main southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where the deaths were reported, and central Panay island.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported flooding, landslides and power outages caused by toppled power pylons in many areas in the central Philippines.

Big waves prompted the coast guard to suspend ferry services, stranding hundreds of passengers traveling to central islands, the agency said.

Airport authorities said 90 flights to and from 12 cities in the central Philippines had been canceled because of the typhoon. - AP