Filipino residents on a makeshift boat wade on floodwaters brought about by recent typhoons in Taguig city, south of Manila yesterday

Two people were killed and thousands forced to flee their homes as a powerful typhoon churned off the Philippines’ east coast, the Office of Civil Defence said yesterday.
Typhoon Jelawat gained strength as it moved closer to the northern Philippines, packing maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 240 kph, the weather bureau said.
Jelawat dumped heavy rains over an 800-kilometre-wide area, prompting authorities to ban small boats from sailing in the country’s eastern coast.
A five-year-old boy died when he was hit by a falling tree in the southern city of Zamboanga, while a 31-year-old man died after he was struck by lightning in the central city of Bogo, the civil defence office said.
A 27-year-old man was missing in floods in Sirawai town in Zamboanga del Norte province, it added. More than 8,400 residents evacuated in Zamboanga City and two towns in Zamboanga del Norte after flood waters reached nearly one metre, local disaster relief officials said.
Some roads were also closed due to landslides, the army said.
The weather bureau urged residents in the northern Philippines to be alert since Jelawat could make landfall tomorrow over Cagayan province.DPA