Five people died in the northern Philippines during the onslaught of Typhoon Krathon, locally known as Julian, the country’s disaster agency said on Friday.

It said four of the five fatalities were recorded in the Ilocos Region, mostly due to drowning, while one person died in Cagayan Valley from electrocution.

The agency issued a belated report due to difficulties assessing the extent of the damage during the height of the typhoon, which had briefly intensified into a super typhoon.

The bad weather with strong winds and heavy rains mainly battered the Batanes island province, the Ilocos Region, the Cordillera mountain region, and the Cagayan Valley, causing floods and landslides.

Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate their homes or seek shelter elsewhere.

The agency said the estimated damage to infrastructure exceeded 700 million pesos ($12.7 million), with agricultural losses surpassing 300 million pesos.

After intensifying into a super typhoon, Julian exited the Philippine area on Tuesday and headed toward Taiwan before re-entering as a typhoon on Thursday and weakening further into a tropical depression by Friday. 

(dpa/NAN)