Death toll from tropical storm that battered the Philippines' main island climbs to 39

In this photo provided by the Philippine Air Force, Filipino troopers carry relief goods out of a military plane as it lands at the airport in Baler province, northern Philippines Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. Tropical Storm Koppu, which barreled ashore as a powerful typhoon in the northeastern Philippines on Sunday before weakening, left several dead and forced more than 100,000 villagers into emergency shelters and destroyed rice fields ready for harvest. (Airman 1st Class Junell Yupangco, PIO/The Philippine Air Force via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this photo provided by the Philippine Air Force, houses and rice fields are inundated by floodwaters in northern Philippines Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Tropical Storm Koppu finally blew away from the main northern Philippine island Tuesday, after leaving several dead over the weekend and forcing tens of thousands of villagers into emergency shelters and destroying rice fields ready for harvest. (Staff Sgt. Roldan L. Medina/Philippine Air Force - PIO 410th maintenance wing via AP) (The Associated Press)

The death toll from the tropical storm that battered the Philippines' main island over the weekend climbed to at least 39, officials said Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Koppu barreled ashore as a powerful typhoon Sunday, forcing more than 100,000 villagers into emergency shelters and destroying rice fields ready for harvest. The deaths were mostly due to drowning, landslides, fallen trees and collapsed walls, said civilian defense officials.

The slow-moving storm was over the Balintang Channel in the country's northern tip with winds of 55 kilometers (34 miles) per hour near its center, according to the government's weather bureau.

The heavy rains dumped by the storm in the mountainous north flowed down rivers and flooded villages in downstream provinces.

An initial government estimate showed damage to agriculture and infrastructure amounted to at least 5.3 billion pesos ($115 million).

Koppu was the 12th storm this year to batter the Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan leveled entire towns in the central Philippines, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.