Ten dead as storm Yagi triggers floods, landslides in the Philippines

Ten people were killed as tropical storm Yagi dumped heavy rains in the Philippines, causing floods and landslides, the national disaster agency and local officials said Monday.

Up to chest-deep floods were reported in some of the affected areas, including the capital of metro Manila, forcing authorities to suspend school classes and government work.

Five of the fatalities died in landslides, four drowned and one was electrocuted, officials and police said.

In Cebu City, 570 kilometres south of Manila, a 17-year-old girl and a 26-year-old woman were buried in separate landslides, which also left 10 people injured, local officials said.

Two brothers, aged 12 and 18, and a 27-year-old pregnant woman were killed in a landslide in Antipolo City, just east of Manila, where three others, including a 4-year-old child, drowned in floods, according to Relly Bernardo, head of the city disaster relief agency.

One person was also reported missing in the floods, Bernardo said.

A man died after he was electrocuted while checking his flooded shop, while an 8-month-old girl drowned in floods in Naga City, about 260 kilometres south of Manila, police said.

Over a dozen domestic flights were cancelled, while sea travel was suspended in eastern and central ports, leaving more than 2,200 passengers stranded, according to the coastguard.

The weather bureau said Yagi was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometres per hour (km/h) and gusts of up to 90 km/h. It was moving west-northwestward at 15 km/h and was forecast to intensify into a severe tropical storm by Wednesday.

"It may also reach a peak category of typhoon by Thursday or Friday," the weather bureau added.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year.

The strongest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million in November 2013.