Authorities said they had begun crop damage assessments.
Super Typhoon Haima, the strongest storm to hit the Philippines in three years, ripped through major rice growing regions, damaging crops and houses, and forced more than 90,000 people to flee to safer ground, officials said on Thursday.- Haima on Thursday weakened as it moved away from the Philippines and over the South China Sea. It is expected to reach China by Friday.
- Authorities said they had begun crop damage assessments.
- Some rice fields were inundated and roads were not passable because of fallen electric posts and trees and floods.
- An average of 20 typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation every year. Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines in 2013, killing at least 6,000 people.
- Isabela's Governor Faustino Dy III advised people in his province to stay indoors, including those displaced families who sought shelter in evacuation centres, as the local government started clearing the roads of debris.
- Power lines have been cut off and mobile phone signals were intermittent.
- Haima hit the country's major rice-growing provinces such as Cagayan, Isabela and Ilocos provinces, which were due to produce about 3.8 million tonnes of unmilled rice in the December quarter, or half of the projected national output, based on a government forecast.
- Haima, the 12th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, comes just days after Typhoon Sarika also slammed into the northern provinces, damaging 3 billion pesos ($63 million) worth of crops.
- There were no immediate reports of casualties from Haima which hit the northern Philippines late on Wednesday with destructive 225 kmh (140 mph) winds and heavy rain.
Super Typhoon Haima, the strongest storm to hit the Philippines in three years, ripped through major rice growing regions, damaging crops and houses, and forced more than 90,000 people to flee to safer ground, officials said on Thursday.
Authorities said they had begun crop damage assessments.
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