There were no immediate reports of casualties as Nepartak cut across Samar and Masbate islands with peak winds of 85 kilometers (53 miles) an hour that unleashed heavy rain on the region, the civil defense office said.

It said the strong winds blacked out Samar, Masbate and the nearby island of Marinduque, with a combined population of nearly four million people.

Rough seas kept domestic shipping bottled up at ports in the area, stranding 1,772 passengers bound for the central islands, some of whom spent the night at warehouses in the port of Tabaco.

Civil defense officials said there was "minimal" damage to crops and houses made of light materials.

Weather forecasters said Nepartak was streaking due west at 22 kilometers (13.6 miles) an hour and the eye was expected to funnel through the gap between Panay and Romblon islands later Friday en route to the South China Sea.

About 19 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines every year, killing an average of 500 people annually since 1970, official records show.

Nepartak arrived from the Pacific Ocean about a month after the traditional end of the typhoon season in the Philippines.

TERRA.WIRE