MANILA (Reuters) - Typhoon Durian killed 146 people in the Philippines and there were fears the toll could climb after heavy rains and winds triggered landslides from a volcanic mountain, the head of the local Red Cross said on Friday.Villages close to Mount Mayon, around 200 miles south of Manila, were covered in mud and rocks after Durian dislodged mounds of volcanic debris from its slopes.
"Our initial reports showed a total of 146 people were killed in three areas buried by mudslides," Richard Gordon told Reuters, adding that 75 people were still missing across Albay province.
He said the number of casualties was likely to rise as disaster reports came in from other provinces in the central Bicol region where power and communication blackouts as well as impassable roads were hampering rescue efforts.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military to assist medical teams in reaching submerged villages and disaster agencies called for water supplies, medicines and body bags.
One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes, Mayon raised fears of a major eruption in August after months of spewing lava and boulders.
The area around the mountain was bathed in sunshine on Friday, just hours after torrential rain and winds of up to 225 kph (140 mph) tore through the area.
"That's the only thing beautiful today that we've been able to experience," Albay Governor Fernando Gonzales said, referring to the sunny weather.
DESTRUCTION
Durian left a trail of destruction across the central and northern Philippines, affecting nearly 22,000 people as flooding and storm winds damaged homes, grounded planes and halted sea travel. Scores were injured.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said farmers had suffered around 500 million pesos ($10 million) in losses after Durian swept through the coconut, rice and hemp-growing region. Crop damage from previous typhoons dragged down third quarter economic growth.
Durian, which was one notch below a category 5 "super typhoon" when it crashed into the Southeast Asian archipelago on Thursday, has now moved into the South China Sea and is expected to weaken into a tropical storm over the next few days as it approaches Vietnam.
On the island of Marinduque, trees were uprooted, lamp posts wrenched out and roofs swept from homes.
"It's the worst in our history. Almost all houses were damaged by the typhoon in the province," Congressman Edmund Reyes said on local radio.
Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd said operations at its gold mine in Albay province had been interrupted by the typhoon and requested a halt in the trading of its shares to give it time to assess the damage. It will give an update on December 4.
The typhoon skirted Manila, where offices and schools were closed for a national holiday.
Named after a pungent and spiky Asian fruit, Durian is the fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in 3 months. Forecasters expect there will be one more typhoon before year end.
In September, 213 people were killed when Typhoon Xangsane battered the north and center of the country, leaving millions without electricity or running water for days.
Xangsane also killed dozens in Vietnam.
Illegal logging and mining raises the risk of mudslides during the Philippine typhoon season. In the worst disaster in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.
[source]
No comments:
Post a Comment