The Philippines evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and confirmed at least three deaths Friday as a severe tropical storm battered the country, still feeling the effects of Super Typhoon Ragasa.

Civil defence officials in southern Luzon's Bicol region said three people had been killed as walls collapsed and trees were uprooted by Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi, which is sweeping west by northwest at sustained speeds of 110 kilometres per hour.

Evacuees in one province took cover under pews as the roof of a church where they were sheltering was ripped by the storm.

"Around 4am, the wind destroyed the door, the windows and the ceiling of the church," Jerome Martinez, a municipal engineer in southern Luzon island's Masbate province, told AFP.

"Thats's one of the strongest winds I've e

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