At least 148 people have been killed and more than 80 trapped after mud slides caused by Typhoon Durian swamped villages at the foot of the Mayon volcano in the eastern Philippines, officials said.

Rivers of mud, volcanic ash and boulders, some said to be as big as cars, crashed down on villages surrounding the live volcano after flash flooding caused by heavy rains and winds gusting up to 165 mph.

Worst hit was the village of Padang where more than 100 people were killed or have been reported missing. Three other villages in the area have each reported 25 people missing.

Rescue teams desperately trying to reach villagers stranded on rooftops were hampered by blocked roads and swollen rivers and have said that the number of casualties was likely to rise.

Glen Rabonza, head of the Office of Civil Defence, said provincial officials had requested 200 body bags. "Our rescue teams are overstretched rescuing people on rooftops," he said.

Mayon's slopes were covered in rocks and volcanic ash following its last eruption in July. Officials said that heavy rains have loosened the debris causing the mud slide.

Noel Rosal, mayor of Legazpi city, the capital of the Albay province, visited Padang, where he said clothes were ripped off the backs of villagers as they were swept away by the mudslide. "It's terrible," he told the Associated Press.

"Based on our interviews with residents and village officials, more than 100 were killed or missing.

"We now call this place a black desert," he said, referring to the colour of the volcanic debris.

Mr Rosal said that three of the five communities comprising the village of 1,400 people had been "wiped out" with only the roofs of several houses jutting out of the debris. He said that some boulders were as big as cars.

Currently, Padang can only be reached by foot or motorcycle because a bridge linking it to Legazpi, about 10 kilometres away, was damaged. Information is also scarce after power and telephone lines were cut.

Legazpi City's airport was shut down as part of the roof of the terminal was destroyed by the storm and large parts of the city were flooded.

Typhoon Durian weakened today as it moved north of Mindoro island, south of Manila with sustained winds of 94 mph and gusts of up to 116mph as it headed towards the South China Sea.

Timesonline

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- The deadly typhoon that slammed into the Philippines has killed at least 303 people and injured 163 others, officials said Saturday.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council said another 293 people were missing in the wake of Typhoon Durian, which triggered massive flooding and volcanic mudslides.

Officials said 38,473 were being housed in evacuation shelters.

The Red Cross said rescue boats ushered people to shelters and were used to survey the damage.

Many provinces in the chain of islands lost power, which made communication practically impossible and some of the areas were in "neck-deep" water, said Gwendolyn Pang, executive assistant to the Red Cross director.

Durian is the fourth devastating typhoon to strike the Philippines in the past four months.

A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the western Pacific or Indian oceans.

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