Manila: At least seven people have been killed in the Philippines by tropical storm Ewiniar, which lashed the country over the weekend. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Tuesday that search and rescue efforts would continue.

Ewiniar brought strong winds and heavy rain to prefectures south of the capital, closing airports and ports and disrupting power supplies. The storm was heading toward Japan's east coast on Tuesday, packing winds of 130 kilometers per hour to 160 kilometers per hour.

Girl dies due to falling of tree

A 14-year-old girl was confirmed dead after a tree fell on a parked vehicle in the southern Misamis Oriental province. Another student was injured, the national disaster agency said in a report.

Six people were reported dead in Quezon province, east of the capital, police chief Elizabeth Capistrano told DWPM radio station. The dead included two men, aged 56 and 22, who drowned and a 39-year-old man who was killed by a falling tree.

27 thousand people affected

Ahead of a state visit to Brunei, Marcos said the storm had affected about 27,000 people and disrupted the operations of three airports and nine ports over the weekend.

Ewiniar was the first tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year. The Southeast Asian nation averages 20 storms a year, often resulting in heavy rains, strong winds and deadly landslides.