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Philippines also hit by natural calamity |
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July 9, 2000
MANILA (AP) - Rains fell and flood waters rose across the northern Philippines Saturday, bringing the death toll to 42 and doubling the number of people displaced by twin typhoons, officials said. While Typhoon Kirogi moved off the Philippines' eastern side and hit Japan, flooding streets and killing two there, a second typhoon, Kai Tak, continued to dump monsoon rains over the main island of Luzon. About 175 millimeters (7 inches) of rain fell over metropolitan Manila Friday, with rains persisting through Saturday, the weather bureau said. Red Cross workers evacuated 185 families along the Tullahan River on Friday before the city's La Mesa dam reached overflow levels, said Jim Catampongan, an official with the Red Cross. About 800,000 individuals, up from 400,000 Friday, were crowded into about 80 evacuation centers in schools and government buildings, according to the government disaster management agency. The Red Cross and the National Disaster Coordinating Council reported 42 had died from the storms, with another 23 missing and feared dead, including six from a boat that capsized off the western coast of Luzon on Monday. Coast guard officials said four people died and four were still missing after a fishing boat carrying 32 people capsized Friday afternoon near Mindoro Occidental province. The other 24 passengers were rescued. The Coast Guard also confirmed earlier reports that a captain was killed and six others were still missing at sea after their boat capsized Monday in the South China Sea. Two survivors, who reached the western coastal province of Pangasinan by swimming with empty water or fuel containers, reported the incident to officials. For a week, the country has been sandwiched between two typhoons. Floods caused an estimated 82 million pesos (dls 1.8 million) in agricultural damage and another 19 million pesos (dls 431,818) in damaged roads and bridges, mostly in central Luzon. Some 77 houses have been destroyed and 285 damaged, according to disaster management officials. The chief weather forecaster Prisco Nilo said the worst of the wet weather isn't over yet. Typhoon Kai-Tak has hovered since Friday nearly over the same spot, 260 kilometers (163 miles) southwest of the northern Batanes islands, with sustained winds of 165 kph (103 mph) near the center and gusts up to 200 kph (125 mph). "More cloud developments will approach the western side of Luzon," Nilo said. "As long as this typhoon refuses to make its way away from the Philippines, we can expect monsoon rains." |