Thousands of people fled as powerful Typhoon Koppu hit the northern Philippines. No casualties have been reported but about 6,500 people were evacuated from their homes and taken to safer ground, and the number was expected to rise as the storm slowly grinds inland across the main island of Luzon.

Koppu pounded the remote coastal town of Casiguran with gusts up to 210 kilometres (130 miles) an hour and heavy rain, remaining nearly stationary hours after making landfall. Koppu downed trees and pylons, leaving two cities and 22 towns without power, while landslides and floods cut off 10 roads and eight bridges across the region.

Although the storm will not directly hit the capital, Manila, the weather service said it would affect a 600-kilometre swathe so that other regions were likely to be affected by strong winds and rain.

Did You Know?

• The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms each year, many of them deadly.
• The deadliest and strongest on record, Super Typhoon Haiyan, destroyed entire towns in the central islands in November 2013, leaving more than 7,350 people dead or missing.
• The Philippines, in southeastern Asia, consists of 7,107 islands lying between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
• Philippines is about 94 percent Christian—mostly Roman Catholic.
• The Asian Development Bank headquarters is in Manila, Philippines.