The death toll from heavy rains that triggered landslides and flash flooding in the Philippines rose to 122, said the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on January 3.
Flood triggered by storm in
Camarines Sur, the Philippines (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
The NDRRMC said that 37 new deaths were reported in connection
with the recent tropical depression. The victims were all from the worst-hit
region of Bicol, which now has an overall total of 105 deaths. Officials said
the deaths in the region were mostly caused by landslides, triggered by heavy
rains.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit the Bicol region on
January 4. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President wants to
see for himself the destruction brought about by the heavy rains and ensure
that measures are being done to alleviate the plight of those affected by the
storm.
NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad has also attributed the high number of
reported casualties from storm Usman to the failure of preemptive evacuation of
residents living in risky areas amid warnings of heavy rains that may trigger
flooding and landslides.
Usman swept through the central Philippine islands on December 29, bringing
heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in the Bicol and eastern
Visayas regions.
Damage to agriculture in Bicol, which produces rice and corn, was estimated at
342 million pesos (6.5 million USD).
Philippine officials put three provinces under a "state of calamity” to give
them access to emergency funds.
About 20 tropical storms lash the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of
people. The country’s deadliest storm on record is Super Typhoon Haiyan, which
left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in
November 2013.
Source: VNA
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