'So far we've been lucky': Yukoner connects with family in Philippines after typhoon hits

YukonerAuroraVierneshas family living on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, near the area where TyphoonMangkhutis said to have hit the hardest since striking the country this weekend.

There were a few days when the power was knocked out and she lost contact with her family, she said, but she has since been able to connect with them through social media.

"So far we've been lucky," saidViernes, adding her family and friends are OK, except for somedamage to roofs in the area.

However, not everyonefared so well.Many Filipinos in the Yukon kept a close eye on Typhoon Mangkhut over the weekend, as it killed at least 65 people.

Stronger than Hurricane Florence

"It's very sad," saidYvonne Clarke, president of the Canadian Filipino Association of the Yukon, which represents more than 4,000 Filipinos living in the territory.

"The Philippines is an overpopulated country and [has]a lot of poor people who live in shanties. That is why they're veryvulnerablewhen there aretyphoons."

With windgusts at one point reaching 305 kilometres an hour, Typhoon Mangkhutwas stronger than Hurricane Florence, which lashed out against the U.S.East Coast last week.

Many of the deaths have been caused by mudslides in areas with deforestation, said Clarke.

Rescue crews in the Philippines are still searching for dozens of people buried in a landslide set off by the typhoon, but a local mayor said it's doubtful anyone will be found alive.

After rolling out of the Philippines, Mangkhuthit China's southern coast as a tropical storm, where it killed at least four people. The Hong Kong Observatory said it was the most powerful cyclone to hit the city since 1979.

• RELATED |Typhoon Mangkhut leaves death and destruction from Philippines to Hong Kong

The Canadian Filipino Association of the Yukon will be accepting donations for victims of Typhoon Mangkhutat its annual general meeting on Sept. 22.

With files from Sandi Coleman and the Associated Press