Typhoon Usagi has swamped rural villages in floods, knocked down power and displaced thousands more people before blowing away from the northern Philippines, which has been pounded by five major storm

Typhoon Usagi weakened sharply on Friday after bearing down on the Philippines' northern towns, blowing away houses in its path as authorities brace for another storm that could hit the capital Manila over the weekend.

Usagi was a typhoon in the South China Sea Friday morning Philippine Time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest advisory. The typhoon had sustained wind speeds of 81 miles per hour, which would make it a Category 1 hurricane if it were in the Atlantic Ocean.