December 7, 2001	Friday	Ramazan 21, 1422

MANILA, Dec 6: A fishing boat went missing and more than 2,000 people fled their homes as tropical storm Kajiki tore through the central Philippines on Thursday, officials said.

The unseasonal storm blacked out parts of the islands of Cebu and Panay as well as the southern tip of the main island of Luzon and caused widespread flooding, the civil defence office said.

A fishing vessel with an undetermined number of crewmen went missing off the island of Marinduque at dawn, while about 2,200 people fled to higher ground in Cebu and Panay, it said.

But flooding subsided in Leyte island in the east, allowing displaced residents to return home, it said.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 85 kms an hour, Kajiki caused the cancellation and diversion of a number of domestic flights to the central islands, airline officials said.

The storm was over the Sulu Sea in mid-afternoon headed toward the north of Palawan island.

Coastal waters will be rough and dangerous to all craft, a weather bulletin said.

Weathermen said Kajiki would blow over in the South China Sea on Friday.—AFP