Manila, Jun 3 (IANS): At least three people were killed and one person was reported missing after tropical storm Choi-wan lashed the Philippines, the government disaster agency said.

In a statement, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the storm, which hit the country earlier this week, affected more than 3,000 people, reports Xinhua news agency.

The storm has triggered floods and landslides in the country's central and southern regions.

It also prompted officials in the typhoon-prone regions southeast of Manila to evacuate people.

In its bulletin published on Wednesday evening, the state weather bureau said that the tropical storm was spotted over the coastal waters of Oriental Mindoro province and heading towards the southwestern coast of Batangas province.

The storm is moving west northwestward at 15 km per hour, packing 65 km per hour winds and with gusts of up to 90 km per hour.

The bureau said the storm is forecast to linger until Friday.

Typhoons and tropical storms regularly batter the Philippines, claiming hundreds of lives and cause billions of dollars in damages.

Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is among the most disaster-prone countries, including active volcanoes, frequent earthquakes, and an average of 20 typhoons a year, causing floods and landslides.