Fifteen people are missing after a tropical storm in the northern Philippines flooded a wide swathe of metropolitan Manila, officials said today.

Typhoon Durian smashed into the Philippines with heavy rains and winds gusting up to 165 mph, spawning flash floods and sending walls of muddy volcanic ash and red-hot boulders crashing down on several villages, officials said today.

The fourth devastating super typhoon in as many months has battered the Philippines, setting off a volcanic mudslide and widespread flooding that killed at least 109 people and left dozens more missing, officials said today.