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This article has been assessed not ready for publication.Please see the review comments on the collaboration page. When these things have been done, and the article is ready to be reviewed and fact-checked, Submit for review?Template:Assistant/submit/formPhilippines: Mindanao hit by tropical storm Tembin, death toll rises to over 200Submit for review by changing the |
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Please see the review comments on the collaboration page. When these things have been done, and the article is ready to be reviewed and fact-checked, Submit for review?Template:Assistant/submit/formPhilippines: Mindanao hit by tropical storm Tembin, death toll rises to over 200Submit for review by changing the |
Saturday, December 23, 2017
The Philippine police reported on Saturday the death toll from Tropical Storm Tembin, which began to strike the eastern part of the second largest Philippine island, Mindanao, on Thursday, had swiftly risen, exceeding 200 by Saturday evening. At least 166 people were reported missing. The provinces Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and the Zamboanga Peninsula were especially severely hit.
In Lanao del Norte, several riverside houses and villagers were swept away by floodwater coming from a mountain. 136 fatalities were reported. According to Vice-Governor Maria Cristina Atay, the entire province of Lanao del Norte was put under a state of calamity by the local government, and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council will use a small amount of the region’s calamity fund (5%) to help eleven municipalities which have been severely flooded. On the impoverished Zamboanga Peninsula, 36 bodies were pulled from the swollen Sagol River by rescuers on Saturday. In Anungan, a fishing village in Zamboanga del Norte, over 30 people were swept away by the flood, Mayor Bong Edding of Sibuco said by phone. Only five bodies had been recovered so far. Edding blamed the logging operations that have been operating for years for the local tragedy. Already on Thursday, at least five people died when heavy wind and huge waves caused an inter-island ferry to sink.
In addition to the flash floods, Tembin has caused huge mudslides. More than 20 thousand people have been evacuated because the banks of the Cagayan de Oro River were overflowing due to the heavy rainfall. In Lanao del Sur, at least 39 people drowned or were killed by mudslides, according to Governor Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo, who also said 64 people are missing in his province.
In total, more than 70,000 people in the Philippine area were affected by the storm. Traffic to and from the island has been paralysed. Flights have been cancelled and ferries have been prohibited to venture out by the coastguard, causing thousands of people to be stranded.
Tembin is expected to stay on the Philippines at least until Monday. According to predictions, it will turn back into the South China Sea.