(AP) – Widespread flooding and landslides generated by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines left at least 24 dead on Thursday, swept away cars and forced authorities to search for motorboats to rescue trapped residents, some on rooftops.
The government closed schools and offices – except those urgently needed to respond to the disaster – for the second day in a row across the main island of Luzon to protect millions of people after Tropical Storm Trami hit the northeastern province of Isabela last midnight.
The storm – known as Kristine in the Philippines – was settling over the city of Aguinaldo, in the mountainous province of Ifugao, after dawn, with sustained winds of up to 95 km/h and gusts of up to 160 km/h. Winds were heading west and it was forecast to enter the South China Sea later Thursday, according to state forecasters.
At least 24 people died, mostly drowning, in the Bicol region and nearby Quezon province, hard hit by the hurricane, but the toll was expected to rise as cities and towns isolated by flooding and roads blocked by landslides and downed trees were able to send reports, according to the Police and provincial authorities.
Most of the storm’s fatalities were reported in the six-province Bicol region southeast of Manila, where at least 20 people died, including 7 residents in the city of Naga, which was inundated by flash floods. as Trami approached on Tuesday, dumping the rain equivalent of more than two months of rainfall in just 24 hours at high tide, regional police chief Brigadier General Andre Dizon and other officials said.
Although government forces rescued thousands of villagers trapped in the waters, many more had to be saved Thursday in the Bicol region, including some on rooftops. Some 1,500 police officers were deployed for disaster mitigation efforts, Dizon said.
“We can’t rescue them all at once because there are so many of them and we need additional speedboats,” Dizon told The Associated Press by phone. “We are looking for ways to deliver food and water to those who were trapped but could not be evacuated immediately.”
Flash floods swept away and submerged cars in some parts of Naga city, while mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s 24 active volcanoes, in nearby Albay province, covered several vehicles, Dizon said.
Stormy weather remained in the region, hampering relief efforts, officials said.
The government’s disaster mitigation agency stated that more than 2 million people had been affected by the storm, including 75,400 villagers who were displaced from their homes and taking shelter on safer ground.
About 20 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines every year. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record in the world, left more than 7,300 dead or missing and devastated entire towns.
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