A storm slashing through the southern Philippines has triggered flash floods and landslides that have killed nearly 180 people and forced about 100,000 from their homes, government and army officials say.
"Most were already sleeping when floodwaters entered their homes," Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said. "This is the worst flooding our city has experienced in years."
Tropical Storm Sendong, with winds gusting up to 90km/h, hit Mindanao late on Friday and swept across the island, bringing heavy rain that also grounded domestic flights and left wide areas without power.
In Iligan City, which is usually spared the disastrous consequences of passing storms, residents were apparently caught by surprise despite warnings of the approaching storm. Officials said Saturday morning that they couldn't recall the last time such a powerful flood smashed into their city.
Photos sent in by YouScoopers showed cars piled on top of each other, scenes that recalled the epic Typhoon Ondoy in Manila in 2009.
Army spokesman Colonel Leopoldo Galon said emergency workers had recovered 97 bodies, most of them children, who drowned in floods in Cagayan de Oro City. Seventy-five people drowned in Iligan City. The national disaster agency said five miners were also buried in a landslide.
"I can't explain how these things happened, entire villages were swept to the sea by flash floods," Galon told Reuters, saying the death toll could rise as hundreds of people were unaccounted for.
"I have not seen anything like this before. This could be worse than Ondoy," he said.
Television images showed bodies covered in mud, piles of cars and wrecked bridges and homes. Helicopters and boats searched the sea for survivors and victims.
Rescue boats pulled at least 15 people from the sea, another army spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, told reporters.
Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz said many people were caught by surprise when water rose one meter high in less than an hour, forcing people onto roofs.
"Most of them were already sleeping when floodwaters entered their homes," he said. "This is the worst flooding our city has experienced in years.
The national disaster agency said it could not estimate crop and property damage because emergency workers, including soldiers and police officers, were evacuating families and recovering casualties.
The social welfare department said about 100,000 people were displaced and brought to more than a dozen shelters in the two cities.
Six domestic flights of Cebu Pacific were cancelled due to the rain and near-zero visibility in the southern and central Philippines. Ferry services were also halted, stranding hundreds of people. — Reuters, HS, GMA News
source:gmanetwork.com
