Philippine storm death toll hits 11
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TWO DAYS of heavy flooding and landslides killed 11 people as tropical storm Jangmi crossed the central Philippines yesterday, with water in some areas neck deep, officials said.
Jangmi, which was forecast to bring up to 15 millimetres of rain per hour, barrelled through fishing and tourist areas, with about 1,700 people being evacuated ahead of its arrival. Five people were killed after a landslide buried a house in Tanauan, a town in Leyte province, the region’s civil-defence spokeswoman Blanche Gobenciong said.
National civil-defence chief Alexander Pama told DZMM radio: “We are focused on floods and landslides because, while the storm’s winds are weak, it will bring heavy rain.”
An eight-year-old girl drowned after raging flood waters washed away her family’s shanty home in the coastal town of Ronda in Cebu province, regional civil-defence officer Allen Cabaron said, adding that six of the girl’s housemates were missing.
Two teenage boys died from electrocution while wading through flood waters in Loon in Bohol province, Cabaron added.
Rivers burst their banks, covering roads and highways in knee-deep floods that washed out bridges and stalled vehicles, Cabaron said, adding that floods in some areas were “neck deep”.
The deluge was expected to subside in Cebu and Bohol later in the day, but flooding was possible on Negros island further west, which is in the storm’s path, he said.
On Monday, at least three people were killed after Jangmi, known locally as Seniang, slammed into the mountainous southeastern region, triggering floods and landslides.
Up to 14,000 people evacuated in Surigao del Sur, where Jangmi first hit on Monday, were expected to be sent home yesterday as flood waters receded, Governor Johnny Pimentel said.
Ten flights to and from the affected areas were cancelled yesterday, the Manila airport authority said in a statement.
Jangmi will be out of the central region after midnight tonight before brushing the southern tip of Palawan island on its way out of the country tomorrow, according to the state-run weather bureau.
The Philippines is battered by about 20 storms every year, many of them deadly. This month Super Typhoon Hagupit left 18 people dead after it lashed central provinces with 210kmph winds.
Last year Super Typhoon Haiyan, left 7,350 people dead or missing in the same region as it stirred up tsunami-like waves, wiping out entire towns.
