MANILA, Philippines -- A typhoon blew out of the northern Philippines on Sunday after leaving 13 people dead, but officials remained on alert after another howler was spotted in the Pacific.
Typhoon Nari also flooded farmlands and destroyed thousands of houses in provinces north of Manila before blowing away into the South China Sea. Chinese authorities said about 27,000 fishing boats had been called back to port on Sunday, and heavy rains associated with the storm were expected to hit parts of southern China on Monday.
In San Miguel town in the Philippines' Bulacan province, the sun shone on villages where floodwaters that reached up to roof-level had receded, allowing residents to return from emergency shelters to clean up, wash muddied belongings and repair damaged houses.
Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the government's disaster-response agency, said police officers, military personnel and local officials would remain on alert after forecasters spotted another typhoon, named Wipha, more than 1,300 kilometres east of the northern Philippines.
Government forecasters said the new typhoon would likely spare the country if it does not veer away from its current course.
Nari was the 19th of more than 20 storms expected to batter the Philippines this year.
