Manila: At least 10 people have been killed and six others missing after Typhoon Phanfone battered several central Philippine islands on Christmas Day, before heading out to the South China Sea, state media reported citing local authorities on Thursday. According to The Philippine Daily Inquirer news website, two people were reportedly killed in Leyte province, while eight others died in the provinces of Iloilo and Capiz. Thousands of people were forced to be evacuated in several provinces before the typhoon made landfall.

Images posted on social media showed some areas in the provinces of Capiz and Iloilo are underwater. As of Thursday morning, the Philippine weather agency, PAGASA, said that Phanfone was reported 155 kilometres west of the province of Palawan, with maximum winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour and gustiness of up to 160 kilometres per hour. The typhoon brought a wet and miserable season to many who were holidaying in the island nation and stranded thousands as dozens of flights were cancelled.