Flash floods and landslides caused by torrential downpours hit a province in the southern Philippines, killing at least 42 people and leaving 16 others missing and trapping some residents on their roofs, authorities said Friday.
Most of the victims were swept away by floodwaters and drowned or hit by landslides with debris in three towns in the hardest-hit region, Maguindanao, said Naguib Sinarimbo, interior minister of the Muslim autonomous region made up of five provinces and ruled by ex-guerrillas
The rains were caused by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which was expected to hit the country’s eastern coast from the Pacific on Saturday, forecasters said. “The amount of rain that fell overnight was unusual, it went down mountainsides and overflowed rivers,” he said.
“I hope that the number of victims does not increase much more, but there are still a few communities that have not been accessible,” he said, adding that the rains have eased since Friday morning.
The rainfall was caused by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which is forecast to reach the eastern coast of the Philippines from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday morning.
Some 5,000 people were preventively evacuated from the path of the storm, the 16th to hit the country this year. According to government forecasters and other officials, the storm is not expected to reach typhoon status.
About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippine archipelago each year. It is located in the so-called “Ring of Fire” of the Pacific, a region that registers many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
