'2,000 killed or missing' in typhoon

Up to 2,000 people are feared dead or missing today after the Philippines was battered by its fourth storm in a fortnight.

Rescuers were struggling to reach hundreds of people stranded by a typhoon that sliced through the country after a rainstorm which has already left more than 420 people dead. Many hundreds more are missing.

Mudslides and floods earl ier this week turned entire northeastern provinces into a sea of mud littered with bodies, uprooted trees and collapsed homes. The same areas were yesterday hit by Typhoon Nanmadol, forcing nearly 170,000 people to flee to higher ground.

Military sources said it had reports of at least 479 dead and 560 missing in just three towns in the worst-hit province of Quezon. Five other provinces are also affected.

Rescue operations were able to resume as the weather cleared. A fleet of seven helicopters restarted search and rescue flights today and soldiers carrying relief supplies on foot were nearing the town of Real in Quezon province, where at least 150 died in a landslide.

Television footage showed mud-covered bodies laid out in common areas, and mothers weeping for their children.