MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Storm Trami blasted off the northwest of the Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and flooding that forced authorities to search for other boats to rescue thousands of people who were frightened, stranded, and others en route. the roof.
But the onslaught may not end: Provincial forecasters have raised the possibility that the typhoon – the 11th and one of the deadliest in the Philippines this year – could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed by high pressure winds. in the South China Sea.
The chief of police in the Philippine province said on Friday that 49 people died, most of them in landslides caused by Trami in Batangas province, south of Manila. That brought the storm’s death toll to at least 82.
Eleven other residents are still missing in Batangas, Col. Jacinto Malinao Jr. he told the Associated Press by phone from the lakeside town of Talisay, where he stood next to a resident whose wife and child were buried in a deep mound of mud, rocks and trees.
Using backhoes and shovels, police dug through 10 feet (3 meters) of mud, rocks and debris and found part of a head and foot that apparently belonged to the missing woman and child.
“He’s just sad,” said Malinao about the resident, a fisherman, his wife and child who were buried in a collapsed area that occurred Thursday afternoon during heavy rains while he was fishing in the lake.
“She’s scared and can’t speak, we’re just asking her to point out where their bedroom was so we can dig in that part,” said Malinao.
The storm was last tracked on Friday afternoon 410 kilometers (255 miles) west of the northwestern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur with sustained winds of up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts of up to 115 kph (78 mph ). It was moving northwest at 30 kph (19 mph) toward Vietnam, which is forecast to hit Trami from Sunday if it continues.
The Philippine weather agency, however, said it is possible that high-pressure winds and other weather conditions in the South China Sea could force the typhoon to return to the Philippines.
President Ferdinand Marcos, sounding exasperated, questioned that hope in an emergency meeting with Cabinet members and disaster officials on Friday about the response to the widespread damage.
“What is the prognosis for that? Is it possible that it will come back?” Marcos asked.
The government forecaster told him that Trami could turn west of the Philippines early next week, but there is a good chance that it will hit the Philippines again without making landfall.
“It doesn’t have to make landfall for damage to happen,” Marcos said, citing the continued rain that Trami is predicting in the Philippines.
Marcos mentioned another typhoon in the Pacific Ocean that could hit the country again.
“Oh God, it is what it is. We have to deal with it,” Marcos said.
State forecaster Jofren Habaluyas told the AP that Trami’s U-turn may have drawn interest among government weather experts in Asia, including those from Japan, which have provided information to the Philippines to help track the typhoon.
The 82 typhoon deaths include 26 civilians who died in flash floods and landslides in Bicol, an agricultural area and tourist destination southeast of Manila known for Mayon, one of the country’s 24 most active volcanoes with a nearly identical cone.
At least 27 are still missing in several provinces, including 17 in Batangas, according to Malinao and the Defense Office.
Although Trami did not strengthen into a typhoon, it dumped unusually heavy rains on some regions, including some that saw one to two months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours, inundating communities.
Officials in the city of Naga, where 11 people died by drowning, and the outlying provinces of Camarines Sur and Albay called for more rescue boats during the attack to reach people trapped on the upper floors of their homes or on roofs as the water rose. .
In the hills of the Mayon volcano in Albay province, lava and other debris flowed towards nearby towns as the typhoon struck, covering houses and cars in black-colored mud.
More than 2.6 million people have been affected by the floods, with nearly 320,000 people fleeing to shelters or the homes of relatives, disaster management officials said.
The government closed schools and government offices for a third day on Friday to keep millions of people safe on the northern main island of Luzon. Boats operating between the islands were also stopped, leaving thousands stranded.
In Vietnam, state forecasters have warned of heavy rains in the central region. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered the coastal provinces to remain vigilant, closely monitor Trami’s course and deal with emergencies.
Last month, typhoon Yagi hit Vietnam, killing 323 people and causing $3.3 billion worth of damage, according to a Vietnamese government report.
Each year, about 20 typhoons and typhoons hit the Philippines, an archipelago in Southeast Asia between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones on record, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and destroyed entire villages.
Source link
