Christmas typhoon leaves 28 dead, 12 missing

摘要

A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 28 dead and 12 missing and forcedthousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in seaports and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set offlandslides, flooded low-lying villages, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical poles, and knocked outpower in entire provinces. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloiloprovince as a "ghost town" on Christmas Day."You can't see anybody because there was a total blackout, you can't hear anything. The town looked like aghost town," Cindy Ferrer of the regional Office of Civil Defense said by phone.