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At Least 68 Dead in Philippines After Flash Floods
Tropical storm Lingling swamped the Philippines with heavy rains that dislodged volcanic boulders and sent them crashing into villages Wednesday. At least 68 people were killed and dozens more were missing from flash floods and landslides.
Hardest hit was Camiguin, an island province known for its beach resorts, where Gov. Pedro Romualdo said 51 bodies had been brought to a gymnasium in the town of Mahinog. Fifty-seven other people were missing, he said.
Camiguin, about 440 miles southeast of Manila, normally escapes the worst of the typhoon season that batters the northern Philippines every year. But on Wednesday, a four-hour deluge in the pre-dawn darkness took residents by surprise.
Casiano Matela, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, said residents reported hearing a thunderous water spout a tornado over water before the flash floods. Floodwaters bearing boulders cascaded from Hibok-Hibok, one of seven volcanoes on the island, into mountain villages in Mahinog and riverside communities in Catarman, he said.
Romualdo said search-and-rescue teams could not reach some communities because of damaged roads and a destroyed bridge. Matela said weather forced back helicopters trying to reach the island.
In addition to the deaths in Mahinog, three people were killed in the provincial capital, Mambajao, seven in Sagay and three in Catarman, Matela said.
Flooding hit other parts of the Philippines as the storm moved north. Two girls were killed in Toledo City in the province of Cebu and two in Negros Occidental province, near Cebu.
Lingling, with gusts reaching 56 mph, was expected to cross central Panay island, about 250 miles southeast of Manila, late Wednesday as it blew northwest at 8 mph, the weather bureau said.
The storm knocked out electricity and flooded many parts of central Leyte and Samar provinces, where schools were closed. There were no immediate reports of casualties in those two provinces.
Stormy seas forced the coast guard to stop ferry services to Camiguin. Hundreds of passengers waiting to cross from the southeastern tip of the main island of Luzon to the central Visayas islands were reported stranded at the port.
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