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Typhoon kills 36 in Philippines
Typhoon Utor brushed past southern Taiwan, China and headed for China's mainland coast on Thursday, leaving behind a trail of destruction ¡ª floods, mudslides and 37 people dead ¡ª almost all in the Philippines.
In Taiwan, one person was killed when he was swept away into the ocean. Rescuers were searching for a fishing boat and 49 stranded hikers.
In the Philippines, mudslides triggered by the typhoon killed at least 36 people in the north and 16 others were missing. At least 25,000 people were forced out of their homes, the northern Regional Disaster Management Center said.
Separately, in Vietnam, 22 people were killed in flooding related to Typhoon Durian.
Forecasters said Utor was whirling northwest, toward China. The Hong Kong Observatory said Utor appeared to be headed toward the southern Guangdong province. Hong Kong was expected to see heavy wind and rain, but was likely to avoid the brunt of the storm.
Hong Kong officials issued a land and sea warning Thursday. Weather remained calm and businesses were open, but officials warned building sites to secure scaffolding and ordered fishermen to put shelter their boats.
Late Thursday afternoon, Utor's eye was 230 miles southeast of Hong Kong. The storm appeared to be losing strength, with sustained winds of 74 mph and gusts up to 92 mph, said the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Utor means "squall" in the language spoken on the Marshall Islands.
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