Beats walking: Commuters riding on top of a truck to avoid flood waters, in Cainta, Rizal province. — AP
At least 13 people have died in the Philippines due to tropical storm Yagi, while schools and government offices were closed in Manila and nearby provinces.
Yagi, locally known as Enteng, made landfall on Monday in the eastern town of Casiguran in Aurora province, knocking out power in the municipality, disaster officer Elson Egargue said.
Yagi had sustained winds of 75kph.
At least seven people died in Antipolo, east of Manila, from landslides and drowning, officials said. Four were reported missing after a landslide and flash flood swept them away.
“Search and rescue is ongoing,” Antipolo disaster officer Enrilito Bernardo said by phone yesterday.
Fatalities were also reported in the country’s central provinces. Two died in Northern Samar due to a landslide, and one person drowned in Negros Oriental, officials said. Three people died in the eastern city of Naga, according to disaster officer Ernesto Elcamel.
Another two deaths reported in the central city of Cebu have not yet been officially confirmed as caused by the storm, according to a disaster officer who declined to be named.
Yagi is now slowly heading for mainland China with high winds and squally rains, Bloomberg reported.
Still, while the storm is moving away from the Philippines, the southwest monsoon will continue to bring heavy to intense rains to Metro Manila and a clutch of provinces, its weather bureau Pagasa said yesterday.
The tropical cyclone is unlikely to come within 600km of Hong Kong, but the city’s Observatory issued a standby advisory signal yesterday.
The storm is moving westward at 25kph, packing maximum winds of 85kph and gusts up to 105kph, according to Pagasa. It expects Yagi to reach typhoon category tomorrow and peak intensity by late Friday or early Saturday before making landfall in China.
Hainan island and Vietnam are along Yagi’s path, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
The disruptions in the Philippines come barely a week after heavy monsoon rains flooded parts of Metro Manila and other areas of the country.
In July, more than 30 people died as Typhoon Gaemi brought floods and landslides.
The South-East Asian nation is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world, where about 20 cyclones pass through each year, causing deaths and damage to agriculture, homes and infrastructure.
In 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 in the nation. — Agencies
