News Update Super-typhoon leaves seven dead in Philippines

MANILA (AFP) - Super-typhoon Nanmadol killed at least seven people and left flattened bridges and blocked roads in its wake as it slowly moved away from the Philippines, officials said on Sunday.

The toll of dead and missing is likely to rise as officials assess the full impact of the storm, the strongest to hit the country this year, said Emilia Tadeo of the civil defence damage report section.

'After the rains have subsided, that is only when we find the additional casualties and damages, when the local responders submit them to us,' Ms Tadeo told AFP.

Five people were killed by landslides and two others drowned while six people vanished at sea or were swept away by overflowing rivers as Nanmadol brought heavy rains to the northern Philippines, the civil defence office said. Almost 20,000 people were forced to flee their homes due to the risk of floods and landslides in the mountainous north, the office added.