MANILA, Philippines • A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 28 people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Catholic country.

Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in sea and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set off landslides, flooded low-lying villages, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical poles and knocked out power in entire provinces. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloilo province as a “ghost town” on Christmas Day.

“You can’t see anybody because there was a total blackout, you can’t hear anything. The town looked like a ghost town,” Cindy Ferrer of the regional Office of the Civil Defense said by phone.

The storm weakened slightly on Thursday as it blew into the South China Sea with sustained winds of 74 mph and gusts of 93 mph after lashing island after island with fierce winds and pounding rain on Christmas Day, the weather agency said.

Most of the 28 deaths reported by national police and local officials were due to drowning, falling trees and accidental electrocution.

An outrigger boat is destroyed by Typhoon Phanfone on Thursday in Ormoc City, Philippines.

the associated press