MANILA: Falling trees killed six people in the Philippines after a fierce tropical storm brought strong winds and floods, officials said today.
Tropical storm Bebinca slammed into the central and southern Philippines on Friday before leaving the country before dawn yesterday.
Four children on the way home from school in Malabang municipality in the southern province of Lanao del Sur were killed on Friday when a huge tree fell on the motorised tricycle they were riding during the storm, municipal police officer Christina Obina said.
"The wind was so strong, causing the tree to be uprooted," Obina said.
In Zamboanga Peninsula, at least 200km away from Lanao del Sur, a 2-year-old girl and a woman were killed in two separate incidents due to trees falling on their houses, the regional disaster official Angelito Casinillo said.
Bebinca had displaced about 13,000 people and damaged roads and other infrastructure in the country.
The national disaster council said the typhoon also left the country with at least 11 injured and two missing.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, killing dozens of people. - AFP