Rescuers battle strong typhoon lashing southern Philippines

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon has slammed into the southeastern Philippines and toppled trees, blasted away tin roofs and knocked down power while blowing across island provinces where nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated. Coast guard personnel have been rescuing residents stranded by chest-deep waters in a southern province, where pounding rains swamped villages in brownish water. In Cagayan de Oro city, footage shows two rescuers struggling to keep a month-old baby inside a laundry basin above the waters and shielded from the wind and rain with an umbrella. Forecasters say Typhoon Rai further strengthened with sustained winds of 121 miles per hour and stronger gusts as it blew from the Pacific Ocean into the Siargao Islands. There are no immediate reports of deaths.