Manila, May 19: Twelve people were killed and more than 34,000 displaced after Typhoon Halong hit the Philippines, the Civil Defence Office said on Monday.

Nine people were also injured in accidents brought about by Halong, which struck Sunday and has accelerated as it moved away from the country toward Japan.

The Civil Defence Office said five people were killed when they were struck by tin sheets torn from roofs by Halong's strong winds in the northern provinces of La Union and Pangasinan.

Four other victims drowned in flash floods, one died from a heart attack, one was killed when hit by falling rocks, and another was buried by a collapsing wall.

Nearly 9,000 houses were damaged or destroyed in the five affected provinces, the agency added.

The weather bureau said Halong was expected to be outside the Philippines by Tuesday morning and 400 km south-east of Okinawa, Japan.

Halong was moving north-east at 30 km an hour. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 95 km an hour and gusts of up to 120 km an hour, the bureau said.

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