At least 17 people were killed when a powerful typhoon pummelled the north-eastern Philippines, cutting off power and communication in at least five provinces, officials said Sunday.

Authorities said damage reports were piling up after typhoon Parma swept through extreme northern provinces overnight.

Typhoon Parma slammed into the Philippines Saturday with maximum winds of 175 km per hour (kph), forcing nearly 170,000 people to flee their homes amid warnings of devastating effects.

The entire provinces of Cagayan, Apayao, Kalinga and Abra were without power since Saturday, while a large portion of Mountain province also experienced outages.

Parma's winds toppled trees and ripped roofs off houses, while heavy rains caused floods and landslides that damaged crops and blocked roads.

To read all the news about the typhoons that hit the Philippines last Saturday (Ondoy) and today (Parma), please click on the News link in the menu, as all articles can not be displayed on the front page.

MissionPartner.Org and you can help victims of typhoon Ondoy and Parma. We have contact with two reliable pastors of churches in Manila, whos members are in need of help as they are victims of typhoon Ondoy.

Today super typhoon Parma (Filipinos call the typhoon Pepeng) makes massive destruction in Northern Luzon, which is our major area of operation. San Fernando in La Union is hit as well as the northern provinces of Luzon: Cagayan and Isabela.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) confirmed on Thursday that a possible storm signal no. 4 (MAX IS 5) may be raised on the Northern part of Luzon as Super typhoon Pepeng (International code name Parma), with a speed of 230 KPH, entered the Philippine area of responsibility on October 1, 2009.

Pray that the storm will take the yellow route and loose power or go back eastwards!!!
IF it goes across Northern Luzon hundreds of lives will be lost and the destruction will be immense.

The next typhoon will greatly affect Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya where Aurora Bible College is. The girls dorm is already flooded, and many churches of Pentecostal Christian Church Inc. in Northern Luzon will be affected.
Pray for the lives of the members of these churches and that the typhoon will loose its strength as it approaches land, OR that it will change its path back to sea!
The typhoon Ketsana left 277 dead in the Philippines, where Ketsana struck last weekend. The Philippines placed soldiers and civilian emergency teams on the main island of Luzon on alert as an even more powerful super typhoon moves closer.

Typhoon Parma is expected to make landfall near northeastern Quirino and Isabela provinces on Luzon by Saturday unless it changes direction. "It's gathering strength into a category 5 typhoon," chief weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz told Reuters, adding it could be the one of the strongest typhoons to hit the country since November 2006 when Typhoon Durian left death and destruction in the central Philippines.

By Saturday afternoon, Parma could be packing centre winds of more than 200 kph and could be weakened once it slams into the Cordillera mountain region in the north."

You may follow the path of typhoon Parma on this weather and typhoon forecast webpage.