As of early Tuesday, the storm was barrelling towards Okinawa, Japan with sustained winds of 95 kilometres (58.9 miles) an hour near the centre and gusts of up to 120 kilometres (74 miles) an hour.

Thirteen people were reported killed, according to the latest toll, while two others were missing after the storm brought heavy rains, flooding and landslides as it cut across northern Luzon island at the weekend.

Nearly half a million people were affected by the storm, which blew off tin roofs, toppled power and telecommunication lines, the civil defence office said.

More than 1,300 people remained in evacuation centres as of Tuesday, it said.

Power lines were being repaired in the affected areas, but many towns and villages still remained without power Tuesday. The coastal provinces of Zambales and Pangasinan, which bore the brunt of the storm, were "under a state of calamity," the agency said.

Some roads and bridges in Isabela province were still underwater, hampering relief operations, it said.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.