A tropical storm that brought heavy rain and severe floods to the northern and central Philippines headed away from the country Saturday, leaving at least five dead in its wake, officials said. Tropical Storm Molave was moving toward Hong Kong and southern China, with winds whipping at 59 miles (95 kilometers) per hour and gusts of up to 75 mph (120 kph), chief weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said. He said Molave dumped up to 20 inches (500 millimeters) of rain in northern Ilocos Norte province and more than four inches (100 millimeters) in Manila over a 24-hour period that ended Friday. The floodwaters, waist-deep in some areas, forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people in four provinces and metropolitan Manila, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said. It said the waters had subsided by early Saturday, the Associated Press reported.
