Storm Nalgae: Torrential rain causes flood and landslide in Philippines’ kills 45

Saturday, October 29, 2022

The Philippines has significantly revised down the death toll from a tropical storm ravaging the country, saying only 45 people have been killed. The civil defence office had earlier reported 72 dead, 14 missing and 33 injured, but civil defence officials acknowledged rescue teams sent to the country’s flood-hit south on Friday had erred in their reporting, leading to some deaths being counted twice.

“When we consolidated the reports at 6am today we realised there were only 40 dead, 31 injured and 15 missing,” Naguib Sinarimbo, the spokesman and civil defence chief for the southern region, said on Saturday.

The national civil defence chief, Rafaelito Alejandro, confirmed the lower figure at a news conference in Manila, saying 40 bodies were recovered from the disaster in the southern region of Mindanao. Five other people had been killed elsewhere in the country, Alejandro added.

The tropical Storm Nalgae hit the country’s main island of Luzon with maximum winds of 95km/h (59mph) after making landfall on the sparsely populated Catanduanes island before dawn.

Heavy rains triggered by the approaching storm began on Thursday in the southern Philippines, the state weather service said, inundating mostly rural areas on Mindanao island. That was followed by landslides and flooding, with fast-moving, debris-laden waters sweeping away entire families in some areas and damaging nearly 500 houses.

In recent years, flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides have been among the deadliest hazards posed by typhoons in the Philippines. That was followed by landslides and flooding, with fast-moving, debris-laden waters sweeping away entire families in some areas and damaging nearly 500 houses. In recent years, flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides have been among the deadliest hazards posed by typhoons in the Philippines.

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