Rescuers attempt to reach victims of Typhoon Mangkhut in Philippines

Rescue efforts ramped up in the Philippines Sunday to aid quarter of a million people caught in the path of Typhoon Mangkhut, as authorities attempted to gauge how many people died in the strongest typhoon so far this year.

CNN Philippines reported that 25 people had been killed since the typhoon made landfall in the early hours of Saturday, quoting Political Affairs Secretary Francis Tolentino who described the deaths as "casualties."

The official death toll stands at zero, according to Edgar Posada, spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. He said two deaths announced earlier were reported prematurely and are not part of the official toll.

More than 250,000 people were affected by the storm across the country, with around half of those seeking shelter in evacuation centers in the country's north.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will head to the region Sunday to see the damage and recovery operations, presidential Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told CNN.

Typhoon Mangkhut, also known as Ompong, is now pummeling Hong Kong with strong winds and heavy rain, though the storm is still 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coast.

Hong Kong's typhoon alert warning is at its highest level, and the city has all but shut down with transport suspended and residents warned to stay indoors.

Mangkhut slams into the Philippines

When Mangkhut made landfall in the Philippines Saturday morning at 1:40 a.m. local time, the storm was packing winds of up to 270 kph (165 mph), 120 kph (75 mph) stronger than Hurricane Florence that hit North Carolina.

Rosbin Martin, 54, decided not to leave her house in Buguey, a village on the northern coast of Luzon, for safer ground. She said she and her family prayed as winds stronger than any previous typhoon battered the area.

"The wind was going faster, stronger. We were not that scared because we prayed. We trusted our Almighty Father to save us since we are Catholic," she told CNN.

The roof of Martin's house was damaged but that was nothing compared to the complete destruction of the local gymnasium.

Mary Anne Millare, 48, also opted to sit out



the storm with her husband and son in the resort where she works as a caretaker just outside Buguey.

"We are sandwiched here between the river and the West Philippine Sea. We were so afraid. We thought the building we were in would collapse. The wind was very strong. But we thank God the water did not go up," she said.

Millare said she didn't evacuate because she feared looters would raid their home. She's not sure how she's going to afford the repairs

Death and damage

It'll be days if not weeks before the Philippines assesses the full impact of Typhoon Mangkhut.

However, while the death toll is likely to rise, some relief was expressed Saturday that the storm didn't appear to have caused as much destruction as other recent, less powerful storms.

More than 6,000 people died when Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines five years ago, the worst in a generation. That storm displaced nearly 4 million people. Many of the survivors ran short of food, water and medicine almost immediately.

The two people who were reportedly killed by Mangkhut were rescue workers, said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Both victims were women, killed when a rain-drenched hillside collapsed on them, according to the French news agency AFP.

As of Saturday, the storm had caused 51 landslides in the country's north. Search crews are looking for people reported missing in the mountainous Cordillera region, Tolentino said.

Airport damaged

Earlier on Saturday, in the provincial capital Tuguegarao, strong winds lashed buildings, pulling off entire roofs and throwing large chunks of debris into the air.

Tuguegarao airport in northern Luzon, a vital transportation hub, was damaged in the storm, forcing the cancellation of more than 100 local and international flights, according to the Department of Transportation.

Authorities were assessing the damage and trying to repair communication systems, the Philippines News Agency reported.

Storm chaser James Reynolds said Sunday that the airport seemed to be being used as a military base to ferry supplies to affected regions.