Philippines' death toll from Tropical Storm Nalgae climbs to 45
Dozens of villagers feared missing, buried in a deluge of rain and mud: spokesperson
Highlights
- Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae continues to barrel across the country on Saturday.
- Weathermen said Nalgae was spotted over the coastal waters of Catanauan, Quezon, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center.
- Gusts of up to 160 kph recorded.
- Signal Number 3 is now up over Metro Manila, along with neighbouring regions.
Manila: The Philippines has recorded 45 deaths from Tropical Storm Nalgae that caused floods in southern provinces, the country's disaster agency said on Saturday.
Civil defence officials acknowledged rescue teams sent to the country's flood-swamped south on Friday had erred in their reporting, leading to some deaths being tallied twice.
"When we consolidated the reports at 6:00 am today we realised there were only 40 dead, 31 injured and 15 missing," Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesman and civil defence chief for the southern region told AFP.
Meanwhile, typhoon Signal No.3 has been hoisted in Manila, the capital, alongside neighbouring regions.
Torrential rains have triggered flash floods and landslides. National civil defence chief Rafaelito Alejandro also confirmed the lower figure at a news conference in Manila, saying 40 bodies were recovered from the disaster in the southern region of Mindanao.
Tropical Storm Nalgae killed five other people elsewhere in the country, Alejandro added.
Earlier Saturday the civil defence office reported 72 dead, 14 missing and 33 injured. Alejandro told reporters the death toll was reduced after local officials conducted a "validation" of the reports.
Nalgae was ripping across the main Philippine island of Luzon on Saturday with winds of 95 kilometres (59 miles) an hour after a pre-dawn landfall.
At least 42 people were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in Maguindanao province from Thursday night to early Friday, said Naguib Sinarimbo, the interior minister for a five-province Muslim autonomous region.
Five other people died elsewhere from the onslaught of Nalgae, which slammed into the eastern province of Camarines Sur early Saturday, the government's disaster-response agency said.
The worst storm impact so far was a mudslide laden with rainwater, rocks and trees in southern provinces.
Holiday travel in observance with local celebrations of the All Saint's Day and All Souls' Day had been disrupted for many islands in the Philippines due to Nalgea which has strengthened into a tropical storm, now covering a big part of the country.
Many towns in Mindano, southern Philippines has been flooded after heavy rains drenched most parts of the country.
By early Saturday morning (October 29), Nalgae (locally codenamed "Paeng"), had dipped south, ploughing through the Bicol region and Quezon province.
As the tropical storm intensifies, Signal No. 2 has been hoisted in Metro Manila and 23 other areas.