Tropical storm Chanchu gained strength Sunday as it blew away from the Philippines, where it killed at least 37 people, left thousands homeless and forced the relocation of an annual meeting of Southeast Asian trade ministers, officials said.

Most of the dead were aboard a motor ferry that sank near central Masbate Island on Friday after the skipper ignored a coastguard ban on sea travel.

At least 26 people drowned, according to Neri Amparo, an official of the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council.

Coastguard boats and fishermen rescued 18 other passengers of the Mae Ann and were searching for at least two others who were reported missing by their families. Authorities have not found the ferry's passenger list and were unsure if there were other victims, Amparo said.

"This deadly accident could have been avoided if some people were not as hardheaded and heeded the coastguard's storm warnings," Amparo said.

Ten others died from drowning or after being struck by trees or concrete walls in three provinces and a Manila suburb, which were swamped by floods and battered by strong winds, officials said.

Organizers were forced to shift the venue of an annual retreat of trade ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations from the popular palm-fringed resort island of Boracay, about 300 kilometres southeast of Manila, after the storm disrupted flights and knocked out power in nearby provinces.

The meetings, which start today, were moved to Manila.

The storm sliced westward across the center of the archipelago and blew toward the South China Sea on Saturday, leaving rain and bad weather in its wake.

The storm will bring high winds and heavy rain to many parts of South China in the coming three days, Chinese meteorologists said Sunday.

The meteorological station in East China's Fujian Province said Sunday the typhoon was moving northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour and its outer rim would affect parts of South China.

It said winds in the southeastern coastal regions will be between force 6 and 8, with occasional gusts reaching force 10. Some southern Chinese provinces, including Guangdong, Fujian and Taiwan, will see rainstorms in the coming three days, it said.

(China Daily May 15, 2006)