Typhoon Kammuri leaves trail of damage after racing across the Philippines

Powerful Typhoon Kammuri crossed southern Luzon and Mindoro into Tuesday night unleashing widespread flooding and damaging winds.

Kammuri peaked in intensity just before making landfall in Sorsogon on Monday night, local time.

At that time, Kammuri was equal in strength to a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm is known as Tisoy in the Philippines.

The storm has since weakened into a severe tropical storm as of Wednesday afternoon, local time.

At least four deaths have been reported as a result of the storm, according to government officials on Tuesday.

The hardest-hit areas include Bicol, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, eastern Central Luzon and Cagayan where heavy rain and powerful winds were reported.

These winds toppled trees and power lines across the Bicol region, including Sorsogon Province, where Kammuri made its initial landfall.

More than 500,000 people were told to evacuate in advance of the storm which also forced closures of schools and businesses in hardest-hit areas on Tuesday.

Rainfall amounts of 150-250 mm (6-10 inches) were reported across Bicol, Calabarzon and northern Mimaropa through Tuesday afternoon.

Ahead of the storm's arrival, officials made the decision to close Manila International Airport beginning at 11 a.m Tuesday, local time. As conditions improved, the airport reopened Tuesday evening.

Manila avoided the worst of Kammuri's impacts; however, the region still reported 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) of rainfall with locally higher amounts to the south and east of the city. Strong winds lashed the city from Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening.

The storm has also affected the Southeast Asian Games which are being hosted in the Philippines. Several events have been postponed and rescheduled due to the severe weather.

The weather will improve dramatically in Manila by Wednesday as Kammuri tracks farther westward into the South China Sea.

After departing the Philippines, Kammuri will continue its weakening into Friday.

The storm is forecast to dissipate over the open waters of the South China Sea by Friday or Saturday with no further impacts to land.

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