Manila: Twelve people were killed while two others were reported missing in flash floods and landslides as tropical storm Aure, locally known as Bebeng, moved north from southern Luzon, disaster officials said yesterday.
The death toll includes eight-month-old Princess Reulan and her 19-year-old relative Maribel Reulan who died in a landslide in Camarines Sur, Bicol.
Other young fatalities were Adrian Clark, 16, who drowned in Albay; Rexambard Tayamora, nine, who drowned in Catanduanes; and Marco Sanchez, seven, a landslide victim in Camarines, said Ronald Flores, officer-in-charge of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The body of Lourdes Lantero, 58, was found in the spillway of Cagsawa, Daraga, Albay.
Other victims include Aristeo Sabdio, 31, who died in a vehicle accident in Camarines; Arnulfo Pesito, 23, who was electrocuted in Albay; Luis Dingcol, 46, who drowned in Leyte, the central Philippines; and Jerry Mijares, 38, who drowned in Samar, central Philippines, Flores said.
He said the missing pair, from Camarines Sur and Albay in the Bicol region, were in their 60s, and added that the number of fatalities could rise.
The storm battered 150 villages in nine regions, including Metro Manila, leaving 21,320 families, or 111,473 people, sleepless on Sunday night as it hit with roaring winds of up to 85 kilometres per hour in southern Luzon.
The winds eventually weakened to 15 kilometres per hour when the strom made a second landfall in Aurora, central Luzon, yesterday morning, Flores said.
In hard-hit areas, such as the Catanduanes, where it made first landfall on Sunday, the storm displaced 1,562 families, or 7,734 people. The majority of them, about 1,527 families, were moved to hastily-built evacuation shelters.
The rest stayed with relatives in safer areas, Flores said, adding that roads, bridges, homes, electricity and communication lines were also destroyed during the deadly storm. Local government officials urged fishermen not to go to sea.
Coastal residents were told to watch out for water levels while mountain residents were urged to watch out for landslides.
Strict warnings
"Evacuation in hard-hit areas was not enforced, but residents were given strict warnings for their safety," Flores said.
Hundreds of tourists and residents were stranded as ferry boats were not allowed to move from the seaports. Over 50 local and international flights were cancelled, affecting the return of President Benigno Aquino from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit for leaders in Indonesia.
Aure was the second unexpected storm to hit the Philippines at the height of summer.
It is expected to leave northern Luzon and make landfall in Taiwan either tomorrow or on Thursday, the weather station said.
Affected
- 150: villages battered by tropical storm Aure
- 7,734: people displaced in Catanduanes
- 50: local and international flights cancelled
