Floods, landslides in Philippines kill at least 31 people
- Torrents of rainwater unleashed flash floods overnight in mainly rural communities around waterlogged Cotabato, a city of 300,000 people
- The state weather office in Manila said the flooding was partly caused by Tropical Storm Nalgae, locally named Paeng, far to the northeast
Landslides and flooding killed 31 people as heavy rain from an approaching storm lashed the southern Philippines, a disaster official said on Friday.
The storm unleashed flash floods carrying uprooted trees, rocks and mud overnight in mainly rural communities around Cotabato, a city of 300,000 people on Mindanao island.
Many residents were caught by surprise by the rapidly rising floodwaters, Naguib Sinarimbo, the spokesman and civil defence chief for the regional government, said.
“The water started entering the houses before dawn,” Sinarimbo said, confirming that the death toll in the storm-hit areas had risen to 31 from the earlier tally of 13.
Rescuers retrieved 16 bodies from Datu Odin Sinsuat, 10 from Datu Blah Sinsuat and five from Upi town, he told reporters.
Teams in rubber boats had to rescue some residents from rooftops, Sinarimbo added.