At least 136 dead, missing as Tropical Storm Trami hits Philippines | News of Heaven

At least 36 people are missing after Tropical Storm Trami forced more than half a million people to flee their homes.

Rescuers in the Philippines dived into a lake and searched isolated villages for dozens of missing people as the death toll from Tropical Storm Trami reached 100.

The death toll in Batangas province, south of Manila, has risen to 55 since Sunday, provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao told AFP.

Trami, which hit the Philippines on October 24, was among the worst typhoons to hit the Southeast Asian country this year.

At least 36 others remain missing since the storm hit, which has forced more than half a million people to flee their homes, according to the disaster agency.

Police in the worst-hit Bicol region in the central Philippines also recorded 38 deaths, mostly due to drowning.

“We are still receiving many calls and we are trying to save as many people as we can,” Bicol regional police director Andre Dizon told AFP. “I hope there will be no more deaths.”

Dizon added that “many residents” in the province of Camarines Sur are still trapped in the roofs and upper floors of their homes.

It has been reported that two people have died in separate incidents of electrocution and drowning in the province of Cavite, police said.

Five more bodies were also found in other states, bringing the total to 100 based on police and disaster sources.

“A higher number of deaths may occur in the coming days as rescuers are unable to reach previously isolated areas,” Edgar Posadas of the Civil Defense Office was quoted as saying.

The weather cleared in many areas on Saturday and Sunday, allowing for clean-up and search operations.

Police, coast guard and a diving team were searching for a family of seven in Taal Lake in Batangas on Sunday.

Most of the deaths in Batangas were attributed to the rain.

More than 20 bodies have been pulled from mudslides, rocks and fallen trees, while police say at least 20 other people in the state are still missing.

About 20 typhoons and typhoons hit the island nation or nearby waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.

In September, at least 11 people died when Tropical Storm Yagi hit the country.

Recent studies have shown that typhoons in the Asia Pacific region are moving closer to the coast, intensifying faster and staying longer over land due to climate change.