Typhoon Bopha, the strongest tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year, has slammed into a southern island, killing at least six people, destroying homes, cutting power and forcing the cancellation of flights and ferry services, officials said. The state weather service said Bopha made landfall on Mindanao island’s east coast at dawn on Tuesday, raking across the island of 10 million people, packing gusts of up to 210km an hour and bringing heavy rain. At least four people were confirmed dead and dozens injured, officials told Al Jazeera. Local media reported as many as 20 deaths in a landslide in the Compostela Valley, but there was no official verification at the time of writing. Aviation and shipping were suspended, with 80 flights grounded and thousands of ferry passengers stranded at ports as the coastguard ordered vessels to stay in port, the civil defence office said. Power has been cut off in at least eight municipalities in southern Surigao del Sur and Davao Oriental while parts of Agusan del Sur province are flooded, Civil Defence chief Benito Ramos said.
