Philippines, Europe Brief News – The death toll of the Philippines flash floods has risen to 42 while more people are still missing.
S strong overnight downpour flooded a number of towns in the Maguindanao province in southern Philippines.
Naguib Sinarimbo, interior and local government minister of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said 27 people were killed in Datu Odin Sinsuat, 10 in Datu Blah Sinsuat, and five in Upi.
The victims died from drowning and landslides, he said, warning the causalities may rise further as the rescue operation was going on.
Nine towns in Maguindanao were severely flooded, and most parts of Cotabato City in the BARMM, were underwater for the first time in years. The BARMM has “raised our alert level to red this morning,” Sinarimbo added.
Army Major General Roy Galido, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told a radio interview that dozens of houses in Datu Odin Sinsuat were buried in the landslide.
Nasrullah Imam, head of the Maguindanao provincial disaster risk reduction and management office, said troops and police were deployed in place to help rescue and evacuate local residents.
The Office of Civil Defense said the approaching tropical storm Nalgae, which is expected to make landfall by the weekend in the country, heavily affected, particularly, BARMM and the Western Visayas region in the central Philippines.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration forecast Nalgae will intensify further and “may reach severe tropical storm category within 12 hours.”
The national weather bureau said Nalgae will bring heavy rain this weekend in many areas across the Southeast Asian country. Dozens of provinces and cities were under storm alerts, including Metro Manila.
