MANILA, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Typhoon Mitag intensified as it churned towards the Philippines on Friday, triggering mass evacuations, flight cancellations and exacerbating heavy rains and flooding. In the central Bicol region, Philippines' typhoon alley, people sought refuge in churches, schools and town halls as over 50,000 people fled their homes ahead of the typhoon's expected arrival on Saturday. Disaster officials said 200,000 people would be evacuated from Bicol, where volcanic mud can trigger lethal landslides. Mitag, a woman's name pronounced Me-tok from Yap in the Pacific Ocean, is expected to cut through Bicol before passing north of Manila and into the South China Sea. It is currently a category 2 typhoon with winds of 160 kph and gusts of upto 195 kph and is expected to intensify to a category 4 typhoon on Saturday, according to storm tracker website, www.tropicalstormrisk.com. Around 50 sailors were missing in the South China Sea after a Philippine fishing boat capsized in rough waters near the Nansha Islands on Thursday morning. Nearly 30,000 people have been affected by flooding from storm Hagibis, which hit the Philippines earlier this week killing 13 people and is currently heading straight for southern Vietnam. Eight domestic flights to and from the central Philippines were cancelled ahead of Mitag and over 800 passengers were stranded in Bicol after ships were barred from leaving port. In Bulacan, a province north of Manila, around 40 houses were submerged after officials released water from the Angat Dam to prevent it overflowing. Storms regularly hit the Philippines and authorities are trying to avoid a repeat of last year's devastating Typhoon Durian, which killed 1,200 people and left 120,000 homeless when it crashed through Bicol. (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Additional reporting by Lindsay Beck in Beijing; Editing by David Fox)
