Philippines: Christmas typhoon Nock-ten leaves 1 dead, causes power cuts in 5 provinces

Super typhoon Nock-ten (Nina) caused turbulence on Christmas Day in many regions of Philippines, leaving one dead and various regions with power outages. The typhoon weakened slightly on Monday as it headed towards the country's capital, officials said, according to reports.

The typhoon cut power in five provinces of the country, displacing thousands of villagers and travellers in the region.

A farmer died on Sunday after he was pinned by a fallen tree in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, after the typhoon hit the country on Sunday night. Nock-Ten reportedly caused significant damage as it rushed across island and mountainous provinces, destroying houses and uprooting trees. All communication lines were also knocked down, the Associate Press reported.

Although the typhoon is said to have weakened a bit, it still sustains winds up to 140 kilometre per hour, according to government forecasters. The super typhoon is now moving towards heavily populated regions, including Batangas and Cavite, south of Manila.

In the wake of the powerful typhoon, thousands of villagers were forced to spend Christmas Day in emergency shelters without electricity. Reports state that they have now left the shelters to deal with the damage at home.

"They have left the evacuation centers and we're seeing the sun again," Ann Ongjoco, the mayor of Guinobatan town in Albay province, told the Associated Press.