Tropical storm leaves at least 72 dead in Philippines

Tropical Storm Nalgae has killed at least 72 people and injured 33 in the Philippines, the country’s disaster agency said on Saturday. Another 14 people are still missing after the storm, known locally as Paeng, made landfall on Friday with winds of 75 kilometers per hour.

The death toll rose sharply overnight, the country’s National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management said, with southern provinces and cities being hardest hit.

A “state of calamity” has been declared in the town of Cotabatao, on the island of Mindanao, where around 67,000 residents were affected by the storm.

Upi, a nearby town with a population of just 60,000, was flooded, the disaster council said — with thousands being forced to climb higher ground. Photos and videos of search and rescue efforts showed bodies being pulled out of the water and thick mud and residents trapped on rooftops.

Storms are expected to hit the capital Manila and nearby provinces over the weekend, state weather officials said, as Nalgae crosses the main island of Luzon and heads into the South China Sea.

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like