At Least 31 Killed as Floods, Landslides Hit South Philippines
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Flash floods and landslides sparked by torrential rains inundated a southern Philippine province, killing at least 31 people and leaving nine more missing, according to officials.
The unusually heavy rains that flooded several towns in Maguindanao and outlying provinces overnight in mountainous regions with marshy plains were caused by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which was expected to hit the country’s eastern coast from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday morning, according to forecasters.
Floodwaters rapidly rose in many low-lying villages, forcing some villagers to climb onto their roofs, where they were rescued by army troops, police and volunteers, DailyMail reported.
The floods started to recede when the rains eased Friday morning.
“In one area in Upi only the attic of a school can be seen above the floodwater,” one officer said, referring to a flood-engulfed town in Maguindanao.
The wide rain bands of Nalgae, the 16th storm to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, enabled it to dump rains in the country’s south although the storm was blowing farther north, government forecaster Sam Duran said.
About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year.
It is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the south-east Asian archipelago one of the world’s most disaster-prone areas.
