At least eight people have been reported killed as the sixth major storm hits the country in less than a month.

Storm-weary Filipinos have begun clearing fallen trees and repairing damaged homes after Super Typhoon Man-yi, the sixth major storm to hit the Philippines in less than a month, slammed the country and left the least eight dead.

Man-yi weakened significantly to a severe tropical storm before moving back around midday (0400 GMT) Monday.

Rain from Man-yi triggered a landslide, killing seven people and injuring three others, according to the disaster management agency in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.

In the eastern province of Camarines Norte, an elderly man was killed after his motorcycle was caught in a power line during the storm.

The national weather service PAGASA had warned of “potentially catastrophic” consequences in Man-yi. But early evacuation and lower-than-forecast rain volume mitigated its effects.

On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos said the consequences of the Man-yi accident “were not as serious as we feared.”

With maximum sustained winds reaching 185 km/h (115 mph) at their peak on Saturday, Man-yi slammed into the island province of Catanduanes before making landfall for a second time in the northern province of Aurora on Sunday afternoon.

In its path, Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines, crushed wooden houses and triggered tidal waves, landslides and floods. In the northern province of Isabela, floods submerged part of the town of Ilagan.

Power outages in Catanduanes could last for months, provincial information officer Camille Gianan told AFP. “Most of the houses made of light materials were razed while some concrete houses had their roofs, doors and windows destroyed. »

The region including Camarines Norte and Catanduanes is still recovering from massive floods that killed dozens of people in October. In the coastal town of Baler in Aurora, cleanup operations were underway to remove downed trees and debris blocking roads and waterways.

“Most of the houses here are made of lightweight materials, so even now, before the inspection, we expect heavy damage to many houses in the city,” said disaster officer Neil Rojo.

On average, the Philippines experiences 20 storms and typhoons each year. But since the last week of October, six storms have hit the country, including four this month, which the Japan Meteorological Agency said was the first time such an event had been seen in November since the start of its surveys in 1951. The storms killed at least 163 people and wiped out crops and livestock.