Typhoon batters storm-weary Philippines and displaces thousands more people

Residents carry their belongings as the river swells, following heavy rains from Typhoon Toraji in Ilagan City, Isabela province, northern Philippines (AP Photo/Noel Celis)

Typhoon Toraji unleashed floods, knocked down trees and caused power outages in the northern Philippines before weakening into a tropical storm and blowing out to the South China Sea, officials said on Tuesday as they braced for another approaching storm.

The Philippines has scrambled to deal with multiple calamities wreaked by four back-to-back typhoons and storms, including Toraji, that devastated the northern region of Luzon, including vast farmlands and communities, in less than a month.