Manila, Philippines (CNN) -- With memories of last year's killer typhoons still fresh, Philippines officials urged residents of northern provinces to be extra vigilant as powerful Typhoon Megi roared across the island chain Monday, ripping off roofs and cutting off electricity.
So far, two people have died in what has been billed as the strongest storm of the year, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Emergency workers pulled the body of Vicente Decena, 53, from a bloated river; a tree fell on the house of Aileen Respicio, 20, killing her and injuring her child. Five others injured elsewhere, the disaster council reported.
Megi, also known as Typhoon Juan, battered Luzon province with high winds and torrential rain but weakened after slamming into the Sierra Madre mountains, the council said.
About 7 p.m. (7 a.m. ET), the storm was about 155 kilometers (96 miles) southwest of Tuguegarao City, the Philippine weather agency said. The maximum sustained winds decreased to about 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 215 kilometers (134 miles) per hour.
When Megi made landfall around 11:35 a.m. Monday (11:35 p.m. ET Sunday), it had maximum sustained winds of about 225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 260 kilometers (162 miles) per hour.
Still, the storm continued to pose a serious threat.
MAP: Typhoon Megi heads for China
Unfortunately, this is a part of the world where the infrastructure is quite fragile.
--Meteorologist Ivan CabreraTrees swayed and relentless rains inundated roads. Storm chaser James Cabrera, who was in Luzon, said parts of the Philippines could see 300 to 500 millimeters (11 to 20 inches) of rain.
"Unfortunately, this is a part of the world where the infrastructure is quite fragile, the power grid is quite fragile and a lot of people live in quite basic houses," James Reynolds, a storm chaser who is on Luzon, told CNN Monday.
"We have learned our lessons from the grim experiences we had during typhoons Ondoy [known internationally as Ketsana] and Pepeng [Parma]," House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said, according to the Philippine News Agency. "We must all cooperate because nature's wrath exempts no one."
A year ago, tens of thousands of people were in evacuation centers as four consecutive typhoons drenched the Philippines. About 500 people were reported dead.
The Philippine weather agency says the Typhoon Megi could move across the Philippines by midnight.
It is then expected to intensify when it reaches the South China Sea. It is unclear whether the typhoon will move more toward China's Hainan -- an island province which has already been hard-hit by flooding -- or Hong Kong in the coming days.
Journalist Eduardo Lingao in Manila contributed to this report for CNN.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/18/philippines.typhoon/index.htm...
