Death toll of latest typhoon climbs to 14

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Fourteen people were killed, mostly drowned, and four remain missing after typhoon Santi (international name Mirinae) swept through the southern Luzon region yesterday, the disasters relief agency reported today.

Eight of the fatalities died of drowning, three succumbed to hypothermia, two due to collapsed wall and one fell from the roof, said Glenn Rabonza, executive officer of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Santi, the forth storm to hit the Philippine archipelago in a month, slammed into the country's east coast Friday midnight and barreled through the southern Luzon in a few hours before it entered the South China Sea. The typhoon uprooted trees, damaged houses, roads, bridges and caused brownouts in areas including the capital region.

Rabonza said a total 2,853 families or 13,456 persons were affected by Santi. More than 9,000 persons are housed in government-run temporary evacuation centers.

The typhoon also worsened the flooding in parts of the capital region that is still reeling from the devastation of two back-to-back storms earlier last month. Around 1000 people were killed and 9 million were affected.