The death toll in Typhoon Mangkhut hit 74 on Tuesday, Philippine authorities said, as rescuers used their bare hands to sift through a massive landslide in which dozens were feared killed in the worst-hit region. The typhoon, the most powerful to strike this year, smashed homes and flooded key agricultural regions in the northern Philippines before battering Hong Kong and southern China with fierce winds and heavy rain. The violent storm killed four in China’s southern province of Guangdong and the toll rose Tuesday to 74 on the Philippines’ northern Luzon island according to police, with that number expected to further climb. Because the landslide destroyed roads, authorities have been unable to bring heavy equipment into the area to accelerate the search. Almost all the storm’s victims were killed in dozens of landslides unleashed along the Cordillera mountain range, a key gold mining area.

Source: Egypt Independent September 18, 2018 11:26 UTC