(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121204-typhoon-530a.photoblog600.jpg)AFP - Getty ImagesResidents brave heavy wind and rains during Typhoon Bopha on the southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday. By NBC News staff and wire reportsThe strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year pounded the southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday and about 40 people were dead or missing, media said, after the storm destroyed homes and brought down power and communication lines.
Typhoon Bopha made landfall at dawn, uprooting trees and tearing off roofs. The Weather Channel said (http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/typhoon-bopha-philippines-20121202) the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 160 mph and was the equivalent of a category five hurricane.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) About 40 people were killed or missing in flash floods and landslides near a mining area on Mindanao, ABS-CBN television reported, saying waters and soil had swept through an army post.
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