Philippines' typhoon deaths rise as worst floods in 45 years hit north
Source: Reuters Published: 2020/11/15 17:58:40
The death toll from the deadliest typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2020 has climbed to 67, with 12 people still missing, the national disaster management agency said on Sunday.
Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in southern Luzon provinces, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other regions in the country, said disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal.
A total of 21 people were reported injured, he said.
Many areas in Cagayan, a rice- and corn-producing region of 1.2 million people, remained submerged as of Sunday, according to media reports.
Heavy flooding, caused by the accumulated effects of previous weather disturbances, as well as water from a dam and higher plains affected thousands of families, some of whom had fled to rooftops to escape two-storey high floods.
The damage to agricultural commodities due to floods was initially pegged at 1.2 billion pesos ($25 million), while damage caused to infrastructure was estimated at 470 million pesos, Timbal explained.
Nearly 26,000 houses were also damaged, he said.
Relief and rescue operations continued while the nearby Magat Dam was still releasing water, two days after releasing a volume equivalent to two Olympic-size pools per second, based on government data.
Vamco, the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2020, tore through Luzon late on Wednesday and caused the worst flooding in years in parts of the capital.
It followed Super Typhoon Goni, the world's most powerful storm of 2020, which brought heavy rain to southern Luzon provinces and killed scores of people just a few days earlier.
Newspaper headline: Typhoon Vamco death toll climbs to 67 in Philippines
The death toll from the deadliest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67, while many areas remained submerged in a northern region hit by the worst flooding in more than four decades, officials said on Sunday. Photo: VCG
President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to fly to the northern Tuguegarao Province later in the day to assess the situation in the Cagayan Valley region, which was heavily flooded after Typhoon Vamco dumped rain over swathes of the main Luzon island, including the capital, metropolitan Manila.Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in southern Luzon provinces, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other regions in the country, said disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal.
A total of 21 people were reported injured, he said.
Many areas in Cagayan, a rice- and corn-producing region of 1.2 million people, remained submerged as of Sunday, according to media reports.
Heavy flooding, caused by the accumulated effects of previous weather disturbances, as well as water from a dam and higher plains affected thousands of families, some of whom had fled to rooftops to escape two-storey high floods.
The damage to agricultural commodities due to floods was initially pegged at 1.2 billion pesos ($25 million), while damage caused to infrastructure was estimated at 470 million pesos, Timbal explained.
Nearly 26,000 houses were also damaged, he said.
Relief and rescue operations continued while the nearby Magat Dam was still releasing water, two days after releasing a volume equivalent to two Olympic-size pools per second, based on government data.
Vamco, the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2020, tore through Luzon late on Wednesday and caused the worst flooding in years in parts of the capital.
It followed Super Typhoon Goni, the world's most powerful storm of 2020, which brought heavy rain to southern Luzon provinces and killed scores of people just a few days earlier.
Newspaper headline: Typhoon Vamco death toll climbs to 67 in Philippines
Posted in: ASIA-PACIFIC