198 dead as typhoon hammers Philippines

GUINOBATAN, Philippines - At least 198 people were killed — most in mudslides on Mayon — and 260 were missing in the wake of Typhoon Durian, the national Office of Civil Defense reported. Another 130 were injured.

The ash and boulders had been building up since an eruption in July, high on the slopes of the Mayon volcano. The typhoon's blasts of wind and drenching rain raked it all down in a deadly black wall of debris.

For nearly three hours Thursday afternoon, mudslides ripped through Mayon’s gullies, uprooting trees, flattening houses and engulfing people. Entire hamlets were swamped in Mayon, on northern Luzon island.

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