One killed as Typhoon Kammuri pounds Philippines, forces Manila airport closure

Policemen remove branches from a damaged tree following the passage of Typhoon Kammuri in Legaspi City, Albay province, south of Manila, Dec 3, 2019. (Photo: AFP/Razvale Sayat)

The powerful storm, which blew in windows and sheared off roofs, roared ashore late Monday and was due to pass south of Manila - home to about 13 million people - and thousands of athletes at the regional Southeast Asian Games.

A 33-year-old man died after being electrocuted while attempting to fix his roof, a civil defence official in the Bicol region told local radio.

Forecasters said Kammuri had weakened but remained strong, with sustained winds of up to 150 kilometres (93 miles) per hour, and maximum gusts of 205 kph as it tracked northwest.

"We're still assessing the damage but it looks like it's severe," said Luisito Mendoza, a disaster officer in the town where the storm made landfall.

"There is one place where water levels reached the roof ... our own personnel got hit by shattered glass," he added, saying many trees and power poles were felled by wind.

Due to the high winds, Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport was "closed for operations", airport authority general manager Ed Monreal told AFP.

It was not clear when flights would resume, but authorities gave an estimate of 11pm local time Tuesday and noted their decision would depend on the weather.

Nearly 500 flights were cancelled, and officials warned passengers not to come to the airport.

One the terminals AFP visited, which would normally be bustling with morning departures, was occupied by a handful of staff and stranded passengers.

One traveller, 23-year-old Canadian Constance Benoit, was hit with a nearly day-long delay to her flight back home.

She had arrived in Manila on a typhoon-buffeted flight Monday morning from the central island of Cebu.

"It was the most turbulent flight I ever took in my life," she told AFP. "I just discovered what airsickness is."

About 340,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in the central Bicol region, disaster officials said.

However, some residents opted to stay put even as the storm began to strike.

"The wind is howling. Roofs are being torn off and I saw one roof flying," local resident Gladys Castillo Vidal told AFP.

"We decided to stay because our house is a two-storey made of concrete ... Hopefully it can withstand the storm."

People living in low-lying slum districts of the Manila were told leave their makeshift homes as a precaution, but it was not clear how many people were impacted.

Government offices and schools were closed in Metropolitan Manila and affected areas and utilities firms appealed for patience ahead of anticipated power outages. The coastguard halted commercial sea travel in affected areas.

Worst hit was the airport in Legazpi City, where television footage showed structural damage and cables, lighting and panels hanging from the ceiling over departure areas.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, killing hundreds and putting people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty.

The country's deadliest cyclone on record was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.

GAMES WITHOUT SPECTATORS

Kammuri had already snarled some plans for the SEA Games, which opened Saturday and are set to run through Dec 11 in and around Manila.

The windsurfing competition was halted as a precaution and triathlon events were held earlier than scheduled.

Ramon Suzara, the chief operating officer of the organising committee, said Monday organisers wanted the competitions to go on.

"Like (for) volleyball, it will continue as long as there is power supply and teams and technical officials are safe, we will continue but without spectators," he added.

The storm is another difficulty for the Games, which suffered from a string logistical glitches and a rush of last-minute construction in the run-up to Saturday's opening.

This year's Games in Clark, Manila and Subic are already particularly complex, with competition in a record 56 sports at dozens of venues that are in some cases hours apart by car.

Around 8,750 athletes and team officials are expected at this year's 30th edition - the biggest ever - along with another 12,000 volunteers.