Death Toll from Philippine Storm Climbs to 100
A Nation in Mourning: The Devastating Toll of Typhoon Trami
- Tropical Storm Trami has displaced over 560,000 people across the Philippines
- Rescuers are racing against time to find dozens still missing
- Studies suggest increasing storm intensity and frequency in the Asia-Pacific due to climate change
Rescue efforts in the Philippines intensified on Sunday as teams plunged into a lake and searched remote villages for those missing after Tropical Storm Trami.
The storm, which struck on October 24, has become one of the deadliest this year, claiming 100 lives.
The national disaster agency reports that over half a million people have been forced to evacuate their homes, with at least 36 individuals still unaccounted for. In the hardest-hit Bicol region, police have confirmed 38 deaths, predominantly from drowning.
“We’re still receiving numerous distress calls and are working tirelessly to save as many lives as possible,” said Andre Dizon, the regional police director. He expressed hope that there would be no further fatalities, noting that many residents in Camarines Sur remain stranded on rooftops and upper floors of their homes.
In Batangas, located south of Manila, the death toll has risen to 55, according to provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao. Tragically, two additional fatalities were reported in separate incidents of electrocution and drowning in Cavite province.
As rescuers continue their search, five more bodies have been recovered from other provinces, raising the total to 100. Edgar Posadas from the Civil Defence Office warned that the toll may rise further as access to isolated areas improves.
Rescue teams, including police and coast guard personnel, are actively searching Taal Lake for a family of seven who may have been swept away when their home was engulfed by mudslides. Most fatalities in Batangas are linked to rain-triggered landslides, with over 20 bodies recovered from debris, and at least another 20 individuals still missing.
“We will persist in our search efforts until every body is accounted for,” Malinao stated. The national disaster agency revealed that approximately 560,000 people have been displaced by the floods, which have submerged countless villages in northern Philippines.
Each year, the archipelago faces around 20 significant storms and typhoons that wreak havoc on homes and infrastructure, claiming numerous lives.
Recent studies indicate that climate change is causing storms in the Asia-Pacific region to form closer to shore, intensifying more rapidly and enduring longer once on land.
