The severe effects of Trix were on Visayas and southern Luzon, where croplands, houses and communication and transportation services were disrupted and destroyed as a result.

[1] [2] Moving southwestwards, the predecessor to the system was slow to organize until it reached the Philippine Sea east of Mindanao when Trix was upgraded to a tropical storm on October 16 at 1800 UTC with winds of 65 km/h (40 mph).

[1][2] After peaking, Trix began a weakening process at 1800 UTC the next day, with its winds down to 210 km/h (130 mph), equivalent to a high-end Category 3 typhoon.

[1] The system subsequently inclined northwestward and degraded further until it made landfall over the Bicol Region before it traversed the central parts of the Philippines on October 21 and 22.

[3] Upon the system clearing the country and emerging into the South China Sea that day, Trix reintensified to a Category 4 storm, achieving the same peak winds before it weakened progressively for the final time as it slowly approached Vietnam.

Thousands of bamboo and wood houses and huts were also leveled by Trix; however, the capital Manila was spared from its full brunt as the system crossed the country.

Damages to public and private establishments, fish corrals and several crops were reported to be "heavy" in Leyte, Samar and southeastern Luzon.

The country's Weather Bureau warned Filipinos in the path of the storm to continue to take action against floods, winds and rough seas in Mindoro, northwest Visayas and south Luzon.

The governor of Albay at that time, Manuel Calleja, informed the PRC via telegraph that over 118 residents of Tabaco City alone perished during the storm and they were subsequently buried in mass graves on October 23.

Broken communication lines disrupted the recovery process in the country and the transmission of information regarding the aftermath of the storm in various areas across Trix' path.

[9][10][11] The president at that time, Elpidio Quirino ordered the country's health secretary Juan Salcedo to go to Bicol region to lead the relief efforts there.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press called Trix the "worst tropical storm in 50 years" as it devastated a wide swath of southern Luzon especially Legazpi and Tabaco.

Ramon Magsaysay, the defense secretary at that time, flew to the affected areas in the south to assess the damages, along with cases of canned goods and ricebags as the military's initial contribution to the victims of the disaster.