Tropical Storm Bualoi leaves 11 dead in Philippines, heads towards Vietnam
The storm comes as Filipinos seethe over a billion-dollar scandal involving bogus flood control projects
Bualoi battered small islands in the centre of the Philippines on Friday, toppling trees and power pylons, ripping roofs off homes, unleashing floods and forcing 400,000 people to evacuate.
Among the worst hit was the tiny island of Biliran, where eight people died and two were missing, provincial disaster official Noel Lungay said by telephone.
“There was widespread flooding and some roads remained under water early today,” he said. “Evacuees are starting to return to their homes as the weather improves.”
The office of civil defence in Manila earlier reported three other deaths on the nearby islands of Masbate and Ticao, including two people crushed by a tree and a wall that were brought down by the strong winds.
Fourteen people remain missing across the central Philippines, it said without providing details, while more than 200,000 remained inside evacuation centres across the storm’s path.