TYPHOON DURIAN HITS BICOL REGION

By Manny Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) - Typhoon Durian killed 146 people in the Philippines and there were fears the toll could climb after heavy rains and winds triggered landslides from a volcanic mountain, the head of the local Red Cross said on Friday.

Villages close to Mount Mayon, around 200 miles south of Manila, were covered in mud and rocks after Durian dislodged mounds of volcanic debris from its slopes.

DESTRUCTION

Durian left a trail of destruction across the central and northern Philippines, affecting nearly 22,000 people as flooding and storm winds damaged homes, grounded planes and halted sea travel. Scores were injured.

Durian, which was one notch below a category 5 "super typhoon" when it crashed into the Southeast Asian archipelago on Thursday, has now moved into the South China Sea and is expected to weaken into a tropical storm over the next few days as it approaches Vietnam.

On the island of Marinduque, trees were uprooted, lamp posts wrenched out and roofs swept from homes.

"It's the worst in our history. Almost all houses were damaged by the typhoon in the province," Congressman Edmund Reyes said on local radio.

Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd said operations at its gold mine in Albay province had been interrupted by the typhoon and requested a halt in the trading of its shares to give it time to assess the damage. It will give an update on December 4.

The typhoon skirted Manila, where offices and schools were closed for a national holiday.

Named after a pungent and spiky Asian fruit, Durian is the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in 3 months. Forecasters expect there will be one more typhoon before year end.

In September, 213 people were killed when Typhoon Xangsane battered the north and center of the country, leaving millions without electricity or running water for days.

Illegal logging and mining raises the risk of mudslides during the Philippine typhoon season. In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.

By OLIVER TEVES, Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Durian tore through the eastern Philippines on Thursday with winds of up to 139 mph, killing at least 109 people and cutting off power to thousands of homes, officials said.

Dozens of people were missing, and 200 body bags were being shipped to the disaster zone at the request of provincial officials.

With power and phone lines downed by powerful winds, helicopters were carrying out aerial surveillance of cut-off areas.