catastrophe
Tropical storm in the Philippines – number of victims increases
Rescue workers search for missing persons. photo
© Uncredited/AP/dpa
Tropical storm Nalgae triggered devastating floods and landslides. The death toll has since risen to 132. And people are still missing.
The death toll from tropical storm Nalgae in the Philippines has continued to rise. According to civil protection, 132 deaths were recorded by Tuesday, and 34 people are still missing. The number of injured rose to more than 100.
At the end of last week, the violent storm initially triggered flooding and landslides in the south of the island state. In Maguindanao province, more than 100 houses were swept away by the floods or buried by masses of earth.
“Nalgae” then moved northwest over the weekend. There was heavy rainfall and flooding, especially in the Western Visayas region and in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas south of the capital Manila. In total, more than 2.4 million people are affected. Hundreds of thousands had to leave their homes. Many are housed in evacuation centers.
The storm, called “Paeng” in the Philippines, left the country on Monday afternoon (local time) and headed towards southern China. A fresh tropical storm moving toward the island nation weakened Tuesday and should dissipate in the hours that follow, according to the weather agency.