15 die as typhoon lashes Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - A powerful typhoon swept across the northern Philippines on Monday, killing more than 15 people in a barrage of landslides, uprooted trees and flooding.

Cimaron, the second major typhoon to hit the north in as many months, had maximum winds of 109 miles per hour and gusts of up to 130 mph when it came ashore. The storm stalled over the Philippines and was expected to stay in the area until Tuesday afternoon.

Five people were reported drowned or killed by falling trees and 15 were injured in the coastal town of Dinapigue in Isabela province. Mayor Renato Candido said 90 percent of the houses were damaged in the town of 5,000 residents.

Police in Isabela, about 210 miles northeast of Manila, also reported a 29-year-old farmer drowned when his boat overturned amid strong currents.

Four people drowned in Neuva Vizcaya province, while landslides killed a 4-year-old girl in Bugias, a mountain town in Benguet province, and a 53-year-old man in nearby Kalinga province. The Kalinga landslide injured 11 people, including seven children.

A woman and her 6-year-old son drowned Sunday night in Aurora province when their hut atop a riverbank was swept away by strong currents at the height of the typhoon's fury, said village leader Tito Padua. One man in the province was killed by a falling tree.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on a visit to China, called for prayers Sunday as she ordered schools and government work suspended. Domestic flights to the north were canceled.

Although Cimaron — which means "wild ox" in the Philippine language — did not appear to be drenching the mudslide-prone area as badly as feared, rising rivers made at least five bridges impassable. Officials said water was released from at least one major dam to prevent overflowing.

The typhoon threatened commemorations for All Saints' Day on Wednesday, a public holiday when millions travel to cemeteries to remember their dead, some leaving days in advance for outlying provinces. Officials warned people to cancel trips to threatened areas.

Last month, Typhoon Xangsane left 230 people dead and missing as it ripped through Manila and neighboring provinces. About 20 typhoons and tropical storms lash the country each year.

At least two deaths reported from Northeast windstorm

NEW YORK (AP) — Howling winds slicing across the Northeast over the weekend tore into trees and power lines, leaving thousands of customers still without power Monday. The storm contributed to at least two deaths and hampered the search for a man who fell off a cruise ship.
More than 100,000 utility customers throughout the region, including 44,000 in Maine and 38,000 in upstate New York, lost power when winds gusted up as high as 79 mph.

"The leaves are coming off the trees and the voting signs are on the ground," said Dawn Banks, a resident of Mattydale in Onondaga County. The Halloween headstones on her lawn, each weighing between 10 to 15 pounds, were "blowing about pretty good," Banks said.

Electricity was largely restored in many areas by Monday morning, but in Maine more than 23,000 homes and businesses were still without power. Around 9,000 customers still lacked power in upstate New York and at least 3,000 in New Hampshire.

In Massachusetts, Nantucket's 10,000 residents temporarily lost 911 service Sunday and thousands more in the state lost power.

In Deerfield, Mass., a 58-year-old motorcyclist was killed by a downed tree, police officer D.N. Bates said. And in New Hampshire, a 36-year-old man drowned Saturday when his kayak overturned on a rain-swollen river, state officials said.

Another man was missing after falling off a cruise ship on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee during a party late Saturday, and authorities said it was doubtful he could have survived for long in the 50-degree water.

Searchers who battled high winds and driving rain found nothing, and the dangerous weather forced officials to suspend the search for the man Sunday. It was expected to resume later Monday.

Meteorologist John Cristantello said the high winds were caused by a stronger-than-normal low pressure system that passed through Pennsylvania and New York on its way to southeastern Canada.

A 165-foot crane with a wrecking ball at a hospital construction site toppled in a Portland, Maine, neighborhood Sunday morning. Three houses were hit but no injuries were reported.

The wrecking ball narrowly missed a passing car.

"The first thing I saw was the ball coming down really fast about 10 feet from us," said Colleen Mowatt, 48, whose boyfriend hit the brakes just in time. "It hit the roadway, and the rest of the crane just fell on the buildings in front of us."

A wind gust of 79 mph was reported in Sedgwick, Maine, on Saturday, and rainfall across the state totaled more than 3 inches.

The winds caused problems at major airports, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where delays were reported all weekend.

In New Jersey's Washington Township, a couple was injured when a 150-foot oak tree fell onto their home. Authorities said David Monahan, 48, and his wife, Denise, 43, both suffered head lacerations when the tree, which was between 4 and 5 feet in diameter, fell through their family room and a bedroom.

In parts of upstate New York, the wind was combined with heavy lake-effect snow. At least 10 inches fell of snow in Old Forge in Herkimer County.

John Quinlan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, said the agency's weather observers in the Adirondacks had difficulty accurately measuring snowfall totals later Sunday because of winds gusting to more than 50 mph.

Andria DeLisle Heath, executive director of the American Red Cross Mohawk Valley (N.Y.) Chapter, said blackouts were scattered and short in duration. "As power comes on in some places, it seems to go off in others," she said.

The weather observatory atop New Hampshire's 6,288-foot Mount Washington, famous for severe weather at almost any time of the year, reported sustained wind of 100 mph and a gust to 114 mph.

2nd snowiest October on record at Mount Washington

MOUNT WASHINGTON (AP) — While rain poured on most of the state this weekend, its tallest mountain got more than 10 inches of snow.
That brought the total for the month to nearly 40 inches, making it the second snowiest October on record, according to the Mount Washington Observatory.

It also was windy atop the 6,288-foot peak. Weather observer Jim Salge said winds that peaked at 144 mph sent up swirling snow and made for near zero-visibility. He said the weekend was among the windiest he has experienced in four years at the observatory.

The highest wind speed on the Earth's surface, 231 mph, was recorded at the summit in April 1934.

The snowiest October at the summit was last year, when 78.9 inches fell. Severe flooding occurred in some of the rest of the state that month.

Prior to that, the record had been 34.4 inches in 1969.