According to the Philippines, just 45 people have died as a result of the tropical cyclone that is wreaking havoc on the nation.
Civil defence officials revealed that rescue teams sent to the nation’s flood-hit south on Friday made mistakes in their reporting, resulting in some deaths being counted more than once. The civil defence office had earlier reported 72 dead, 14 missing, and 33 injured.
Naguib Sinarimbo, the spokesperson and head of civil defence for the southern region, stated on Saturday that “when we combined the data at 6am today we realised there were only 40 dead, 31 injured, and 15 missing.”
Storm Nalgae: floods and landslides in Philippines kill at least 45
At a news conference in Manila, the head of the national civil defence, Rafaelito Alejandro, verified the lower estimate, stating that 40 bodies had been found following the tragedy in Mindanao’s southern area. Alejandro said that five more persons have died elsewhere in the nation.
Before morning, Tropical Storm Nalgae made landfall on the thinly inhabited Catanduanes island before moving on to strike the main island of the nation, Luzon, with gusts as high as 95 km/h (59 mph).
According to the official weather office, the impending storm’s heavy rains started to fall in the southern Philippines on Thursday, flooding mostly rural regions on the island of Mindanao.
Landslides and flooding then occurred, with swiftly moving, debris-filled waters in some regions taking away entire families and damaging close to 500 homes.
One of the biggest risks posed by typhoons in recent years in the Philippines have been flash floods with mud and debris from heavily deforested mountainsides.
Numerous locations in the central Philippines’ reported flooding. There were no reported fatalities.
On the centre island of Leyte, rescuers were seen using an old refrigerator as a makeshift watercraft to rescue children from a town that had been inundated.
The capital city of Manila, a sprawling metropolis of more than 13 million people, was warned that Nalgae might bring “intense, with at times torrential, rainfall.”
It said that there was a “low to moderate risk of storm surge” or large waves striking coastal areas, while “widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides are predicted.”
Alejandro stated that 5,000 rescue teams were on standby and added, “Based on our estimations, this one is particularly strong, so we really prepared for it.”
Until the typhoon entered the South China Sea early on Sunday, he advised those in its path to stay inside.
We shouldn’t go outside today if it’s not required or important since it’s risky and might hurt you, Alejandro stated.
Before the hurricane made landfall, more than 7,000 people were evacuated, according to the civil defence office.
Due to strong seas, the coastguard has also stopped ferry operations throughout the majority of the archipelago nation, leaving hundreds of vessels and thousands of passengers stranded at ports.
More than 100 flights have already been cancelled, according to the civil aviation office.
The typhoon hit the Philippines at the start of a long weekend when many people travel back to their hometowns to pay respects at their loved ones’ graves.
An average of 20 severe storms strike the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people and keeping large areas in abject poverty.
Scientists have issued warnings that these storms, which can kill cattle and devastate important infrastructure, are getting stronger as global warming continues to take place.
We need your help with a simple favour. Every day, millions of people look to the Guardian for unbiased, high-quality news, and we now receive financial support from readers in 180 different nations.
We think everyone should have access to information that is based on facts and science, as well as analysis that is grounded in authority and integrity. Because of this, we took a different tack and decided to keep our reporting accessible to all readers, regardless of their location or financial situation. More people will be better informed, united, and motivated to take significant action as a result.
A worldwide news organisation that seeks the truth, like the Guardian, is crucial in these dangerous times. We are unique in that our journalism is free from commercial and political influence because we don’t have shareholders or billionaire owners. Our independence gives us the freedom to tenaciously look into, confront, and expose those in authority at a time when it has never been more crucial.
