AP, BBC

Worldcrunch

MANILA - The season’s most powerful typhoon hit the north of the Philippine islands early Monday morning, leaving one person dead, with at least 23 others missing, according to the Associated Press.

Typhoon Utor brought winds of up to 130 mph and torrential rains to the country’s main island of Luzon, toppling power lines, causing landslides and stranding thousands of people. It is described as the world’s strongest typhoon so far this year, the BBC reports.

In Benguet province, a 22-year-old man died on the way to a hospital after he was pulled out from a landslide, according to the regional civil defense official Andrew Alex Uy.

In four towns in Catanduanes province, at least 45 fishermen who were out at sea failed to return home, the AP reports. Authorities hope they are just taking cover from the storm in nearby islands.

Typhoon Utor is expected to cut across the island of Luzon on Monday, before moving into the South China Sea on Tuesday toward Guangdong in China, according to the government weather forecaster Jun Galang.