• At least 3 dead in typhoon; 19 fishermen still missing
• Power out across metro Manila and surrounding provinces
• Conson to regain strength, head towards south China

MANILA (Reuters) — Typhoon "Basyang" (international name: "Conson") cut power supplies across Metro Manila and surrounding provinces as it swept across the main Philippine island of Luzon to the South China Sea and headed towards southern China on Wednesday.

Two people died when a tree fell on their shanty house and a toddler drowned in a swollen river in Cavite province, south of the capital, local officials said.

Nineteen fishermen were still missing and feared dead near the central Catanduanes island after four fishing boats capsized, an army spokesman said, adding nearly 4,000 people were stranded in local ports after ferry services were suspended.

Philippine financial markets opened as normal on Wednesday even though much of the metropolitan area remained without power after the national grid declared a power outage on Tuesday night, with buildings in the central business district being powered by back-up generators.

Basyang, a category 1 typhoon with winds of 90 kph (55 mph) and gusts of up to 120 kph, was moving west-northwest at 22 kph. It lost some intensity after hitting Luzon overnight, but is expected to regain strength as it moves over the South China Sea on Wednesday.

Across Manila and surrounding provinces, the storm felled trees and covered roads in debris. Hundreds of families moved to temporary shelter areas due to flash floods.

"We've restored power in only 8 percent of our franchise area that covers 4.7 million households in Manila and nearby six provinces," said Jose Zaldarriaga, spokesman for Manila Electric Company (Meralco). "We're trying to re-energise most parts of the capital region today."

Energy Secretary Jose Almendraz said 20 percent of power, or about 4,500 megawatts, had been restored in the main Luzon grid.

Inaccurate forecasts
President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III chaired a National Disaster Coordinaing Council meeting at the main army base in Manila, and scolded the weather bureau for inaccurate forecasts.

"That information is sorely lacking and we have had this problem for quite a long time," Aquino told the weather bureau.

"You do what you are supposed to do and this is not acceptable. I hope this is the last time that we are brought to areas different from where we should be."

Dozens of domestic and international flights were either suspended or diverted from Manila's main airport. Schools were closed but some government offices suspended operations as the country began cleaning up the debris left by Basyang.

Typhoons and tropical storms regularly hit the Philippines, China, Taiwan and Japan in the second half of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or South China Sea before weakening over land.

Last year, Typhoon "Ondoy" (international name "Ketsana") dumped record rain that submerged 80 percent of the capital region and nearby areas, killing 277 people, leaving tens of thousands homeless and causing more than $100 million of damage to crops, infrastructure and property.