Tropical Storm Trami wreaks havoc in the Philippines, at least 26 dead

MANILA (Reuters) -Tropical Storm Trami has killed at least 26 people and forced more than 150,000 to flee their homes in the Philippines, officials said on Thursday, as it made landfall on the northeastern coast.

Trami, locally known as severe tropical storm Kristine, dumped heavy to torrential rain on the main island of Luzon triggering widespread flooding and landslides.

With maximum sustained winds of 95 kph (59 mph), the storm was moving westward across the mountainous northern region of Cordillera towards the South China Sea, the state weather agency said in its 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) weather bulletin.

It warned of heavy to intense rainfall, flooding, landslides and storm surges for some northern provinces.

Most of the deaths from the storm over the past few days were due to drowning and landslides in the central Bicol region, including Naga city where 14 were reported dead on Thursday, officials said.

Trami made landfall in the northeastern town of Divilacan in Isabela province. The town's disaster chief, Ezikiel Chavez, said no fatalities had been reported.

The government ordered businesses and schools in the path of the storm to close in anticipation of heavy rain and floods.

Over 163,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centres, the civil defence office said, most of whom were in Bicol as residents fled their homes after floodwaters reached as high as the roofs of bungalow houses.

The civil aviation regulator said on Thursday at least a dozen flights across the country had been cancelled due to the storm.

The central bank cancelled foreign exchange trading and monetary operations for a second straight day.

The Philippines typically records an average of 20 tropical storms annually, often resulting in heavy rains, strong winds, and deadly landslides.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Mikhail Flores; Editing by Stephen Coates)