Days of torrential rains in north-central Philippines worsen disaster situation, death toll increase
According to foreign media reports, the torrential rains in the central and northern parts of the Philippines worsened the disaster. The death toll from floods and landslides doubled to at least 68, and 19 others were missing. The authorities expect casualties to increase.
The Philippine National Disaster Reduction Management Committee recently reported that more than 130,000 people were affected in 321 districts, and most of the casualties were concentrated in the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas, which were seriously affected by the disaster. There are many landslides and severe flooding in these places. Many houses were buried by earth and rocks after landslides, and flooding cut off traffic on many roads. Power outages also occurred in areas hit by tropical storms.
The storm named "Usman" swept through the central Philippines a few days ago. Although Usman did not bring strong winds, it brought heavy rains, leading to flooding and landslides.
Bicol Regional Civil Defense Bureau Director Yukot said that because Usman’s wind did not reach the “typhoon” level of the storm warning system, many people did not take sufficient preventive measures. "People are overconfident because everyone is in the mood for the holidays and there is no warning of tropical storms." He said: "I am afraid (the death toll) will rise because there are still many areas that have not been cleaned up."