A typhoon whipped through the northwestern Philippines today, killing at least 23 people in stormy seas and leaving more than 10,000 people stranded as air and ferry services were suspended.
Most of those killed were from a boat that capsized off Masbate island in the south of Luzon region, the Coast Guard said.
At least 21 people on the vessel, named the Mae Ann, were killed and 18 were rescued, Coast Guard spokesman Joseph Coyme told reporters in Manila, citing details from the Coast Guard's district commander in Bicol region.
A fisherman also drowned while his four companions were rescued when their boat sank in rough seas off the coast of Negros Occidental province in central Philippines, the coast guard said.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council said about 24,000 people were either affected or displaced by Typhoon Chanchu.
Hundreds of families fled to evacuation centers as Chanchu, with gusts of up to 120 kph (75 mph), battered a wide area.
In Manila, winds blew over billboards and snapped tree branches, causing power outages in some parts of the city.