Storm Nalgae death toll in Philippines rises to 150 dead
Manila, Nov 3 (EFE).- At least 150 people lost their lives and 36 remain missing due to floods and landslides caused by tropical storm Nalgae, which hit the Philippines last weekend, according to data updated Thursday by the national emergency center.
Many of the deaths, 63, were recorded in the autonomous region of Bangsamoro, in the southwest of the country, where the first attacks of the storm dumped a large amount of water early Friday, causing serious mud avalanches.
In the province of Maguindandao, in Bangsamoro, 17 people are still missing and 52 percent of its more than 1.4 million inhabitants have been affected by Nalgae, the local emergency center of the southern province told EFE.
According to the latest report from the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, Nalgae also left 128 people injured, as almost 44,000 families remain in evacuation centers and nearly 4 million people throughout the archipelago were affected.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of calamity in four of the hardest-hit regions – including Bangsamoro – Wednesday, which will be in effect for the next six months to facilitate reconstruction efforts.
Senator Sonny Angara, for his part, announced Thursday in a statement that the upper house will soon approve an increase of up to PHP 30 billion (about $ 509 million) of the fund for the National Council for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction, also known as the “calamity fund,” “because of the increased frequency and magnitude of typhoons.”
The Category 3 tropical storm, with maximum winds of 95 kmph, made landfall for the first time in the archipelago Saturday and left the territory Sunday afternoon.
Nalgae hit the country just over a month after Typhoon Noru passed through the Philippines, which in September caused at least 12 deaths and about 14,000 evacuees.
About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change. EFE
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