The mountain hamlet of Balani, near Tabuk town in the Cordillerra range of the main Philippine island of Luzon, was struck by the landslip after hours of heavy rain late Monday.

A five-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister died in the disaster, while their parents and another brother were injured, said Vicente Tomazar, head of the regional civil defense office based in Baguio city.

At least 17 houses were destroyed, along with a Roman Catholic chapel and the local elementary school, he added.

Other landslides occurred along a 3.5-kilometer (2.2-mile) stretch of road on either ends of Balani, isolating the nearby mountain towns of Pasil, Lubuagan and Balbalan, the official said.

Bopha, packing gusts of up to 55 knots, was on course to smash into Taiwan later Tuesday and southeastern China on Friday, according to the US Navy's Pacific Meteorology and Oceanography Center.

Bopha and typhoon Saomai, following a parallel course to the north, were expected to enhance the rain-laden southwest monsoons over the western Philippines, the national weather service in Manila said.

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