Flooding kills scores in Southern Philippines

How many floods have there been this year in Asia??? Weather patterns around the world are changing dramatically.

Flooding Kills Scores in Southern Philippines

By FLOYD WHALEY

Published: December 17, 2011




MANILA — Flash floods in the southern Philippines on Saturday sent water gushing into homes, killing at least 200 and surprising families who fled to rooftops clutching children, officials said. More than 400 are missing.



“The rivers flooded and washed through villages,” said Col. Leopoldo Galon, a military spokesman. “Soldiers conducting search-and-rescue operations are finding bodies in all areas, in homes, rivers, off shore, in the street. Casualties are everywhere.”
The flooding was triggered by tropical storm Washi, which hit the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Friday, creating wind gusts of up to 56 miles an hour and dumping heavy rain in the area. By the early morning hours of Saturday, the storm had triggered flooding in the towns of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, officials said.
The heavy rain sent water pouring down mountains and into already swollen rivers that quickly engulfed areas in the northern part of Mindanao. Fast-rising waters gushed into homes after 2 a.m. when most were sleeping, said Benito Ramos, a civil defense official, during a news briefing in Manila.
Washi is the 19th storm to hit the country this year, but Mr. Ramos said typhoons and tropical storms usually strike farther north in the Philippines and this one took a path that officials had never seen before. As a result, many residents were caught off-guard by the speed and ferocity of the flood waters. Local officials confirmed his assessment.
“This area is not on the usual path for violent typhoons and doesn’t get this type of severe flooding,” said Colonel Galon, the military spokesman. “This storm took a different path and it surprised people.”
He noted that soldiers in the area were preparing to have Christmas celebrations with their families when they were called in for emergency operations that quickly turned into the grim and grisly task of collecting bodies. “We’re not complaining,” he said. “It’s our job.”
Residents in the area expressed similar sentiments, noting that Christmas trees had been erected in parks in the popular tourist town of Cagayan de Oro and residents had begun going to church nightly in preparation for the holidays.
“This Christmas is going to be imprinted in everybody’s memories,” said Stephanie Caragos, a 34-year resident of Cagayan de Oro. “We are seeing trucks pass by filled with dead bodies and people are buying in bulk to give away to those who need it. This will be in our minds for a long time.”
Reached by telephone, the lifelong resident of the city said she had lost an uncle in the flooding and found that funeral parlors throughout were overflowing with victims.
“We knew there was a storm coming but we had no idea it would be this bad,” she said. “When we woke up, whole parts of the city were flooded. There were areas where the water was so strong that even the rescuers couldn’t get it in.
The storm is expected to leave the Philippines on Sunday, after striking the western island of Palawan, according to the country’s national weather service.
The country was hit by tropical storm Banyon in October, which killed eight people. In September, two typhoons, Nesat and Nalgae, struck in quick succession and killed more than 100 people.

death toll 270,i think i heard on sky news

Badboy wrote:death toll 270,i think i heard on sky news

Dreadful isn"t it, no warning either ...........

IT IS INDEED DREADFUL,THE FLOODING
CARS WERE OVERTURNED.

Badboy wrote:IT IS INDEED DREADFUL,THE FLOODING
CARS WERE OVERTURNED.

There has been a disastrous flood in China, Thailand and now the Philipines, we"ve hardly had any Summer in the U.K. , weather patterns definitely odd.

Flash Floods 'Kill Up To 440' In Philippines

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2:47pm UK, Saturday December 17, 2011


The number of people killed after a typhoon hit the southern Philippines has
risen to 440, reports say.


Hundreds more are missing after torrential rain triggered by tropical storm
Washi caused rivers to burst their banks while people slept in the Mindanao
region.

Among the worst-hit cities are Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.

An estimated 100,000 people have been left homeless.


The worst-hit cities were Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the
nation's south



Those missing include a prominent local radio broadcaster, who was swept away
while trying to save his neighbours, according to the city's mayor.

Authorities said several people drowned in floodwaters on the island province
of Negros Oriental, whose southern tip was nipped by the eye of the storm.

Many people managed to escape by climbing onto their roofs, while tens of
thousands fled to higher ground.

"We stayed on top of our roof. All we could see were lights flashing while we
made a hole on our roof to climb on," said one female survivor.

Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family heard a loud
"swooshing sound" and water quickly rose ankle deep inside his home.

He decided to evacuate to a neighbour's two-storey house.

"It was a good thing because in less than an hour the water rose to about
11ft (3.3 metres)," he said.

The local government has declared a state of emergency in the flooded regions
and sent food and water to the thousands of displaced families.

Authorities said the high casualties in Mindanao could be attributed "partly
to the complacency of people because they are not in the usual path of
storms".

This was despite four days of warnings by officials of the approaching
weather system.

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Flash Floods Kill More Than 650 In Philippines










10:51am UK, Sunday December 18, 2011


The number of people killed after a typhoon hit the southern Philippines has
risen to over 650.


Hundreds more are missing and an estimated 100,000 are homeless after
torrential rain triggered by tropical storm Washi caused rivers to burst their
banks while people slept in the Mindanao region.

Among the worst-hit cities are Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. At least 652 people
have died and 808 are missing, the Red Cross said.


The worst-hit cities were Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the
nation's south



Those missing include a prominent local radio broadcaster, who was swept away
while trying to save his neighbours, according to the city's mayor.

Authorities said several people drowned in floodwaters on the island province
of Negros Oriental, whose southern tip was nipped by the eye of the storm.

Many people managed to escape by climbing onto their roofs, while tens of
thousands fled to higher ground.

"We stayed on top of our roof. All we could see were lights flashing while we
made a hole on our roof to climb on," said one female survivor.

Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family heard a loud
"swooshing sound" and water quickly rose ankle deep inside his home.

He decided to evacuate to a neighbour's two-storey house.

"It was a good thing because in less than an hour the water rose to about
11ft (3.3 metres)," he said.

The local government has declared a state of emergency in the flooded regions
and sent food and water to the thousands of displaced families.

Britain's Foreign Office has advised against all travel to the flood-hit
region

19 December 2011
Last updated at 01:53















Mass burial for Philippines floods victims











In some areas entire villages have been swept away by the floods



Continue reading the main story Related Stories

• In pictures: Philippine flood devastation
  
• Philippines storm: Your stories
  
• Recovery in storm-hit Philippines
  

A
mass burial has been organised in the Philippines for scores of people
killed by flash floods on the southern island of Mindanao.

Health officials in the city of Iligan say unclaimed bodies
are being buried after being marked for possible future identification.

Coastal communities were devastated early on Saturday in flash floods triggered by a tropical storm.

More than 650 people were killed and another 800 people are still missing.

Damaged roads are hampering efforts to reach survivors in remote villages.

Officials in Iligan said they were preparing to bury
unclaimed bodies in a mass grave as early as Monday because of their
advanced state of decomposition.

The ports of Iligan and nearby Cagayan de Oro bore the brunt of the flooding.

Health officer Liddy Villarin said the body bags would be marked for possible exhumation.

"We will put markings on the cadaver bags which will give the
physical features of each body before they put them in the mass grave,"
she said.

Corpses unclaimed
Disaster management chief Benito Ramos said funeral parlours had been overwhelmed by the catastrophe.






Speaking from a boat off Cagayan de Oro, he told AFP news
agency: "I'm out here retrieving bodies that are starting to rise to the
surface."

The Philippine Red Cross said its staff had confirmed 652 people dead and another 808 were listed as missing.

Officials in Cagayan de Oro said corpses were piling up unclaimed at mortuaries and overworked staff had run out of coffins.

One establishment turned away the bodies of two drowned children, local media reported.

About 35,000 people are sheltering in evacuation centres, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

The government says survivors are in desperate need of fresh water, shelter and medicine.

China and the US are among international donors offering assistance.

The flash floods struck in the early hours of Saturday as a passing tropical storm coincided with high tides.

As rivers burst their banks, many were trapped in their homes
while in other areas entire villages are reported to have been swept
away.

Authorities are facing criticism for not giving enough warning of the storm's severity.

Although the Philippines is struck by several typhoons and
tropical storms every year, the south of the country usually escapes the
worst damage.

23 December 2011
Last updated at 05:53



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Philippines floods: More than 1,000 remain missing











The government has been shipping coffins and aid to the storm-hit region in Mindanao



Continue reading the main story Related Stories

• A Christmas to forget
  
• In pictures: Philippine flood devastation
  
• Philippines storm: Your stories
  

The Philippines government says 1,079 people are still missing in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Washi.

More than 1,000 others are known to have died in the storm, which struck Mindanao island on Saturday.

Entire neighbourhoods in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities were swept away.

The previous estimate for the missing was just 51 but
officials say the new figure includes city migrant workers whose rural
relatives did not immediately realise they were missing.

The authorities acknowledge that the new number may still not be accurate, reports the BBC's Kate McGeown in Manila.

Entire families who were killed may still not be accounted
for and some of the missing may also be counted among the unidentified
dead.

But, says our correspondent, it is clear that the scale of
this disaster is far greater than the authorities originally thought.

The death toll from the disaster now stands at 1,080, the
government says. Some 338,000 people have been affected and more than
10,000 homes damaged.

Tens of thousands of people are now living in evacuation centres.

Many of those who died were sleeping as Typhoon Washi caused rivers to burst their banks, leading to landslides.

Aid agencies have appealed for funds to help local people.
The United Nations is seeking $28.6m (£18.2m) from donors to help
provide water and sanitation to storm victims.

"We must improve this situation at the soonest possible time
to avoid disease outbreaks that will further compound the hardships of
the people already weakened by hunger, and grief from loss of family and
friends," Soe Nyunt-U, acting UN humanitarian coordinator, told
journalists in Manila on Thursday.

As if the Philippenes hasn"t had enough to contend with,

Jan 4, 11:24 PM EST Landslide kills 25 in southern Philippines By OLIVER TEVES Associated Press

World Video Advertisement Buy AP Photo Reprints MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- A landslide buried dozens of people Thursday at a small-scale gold mining site in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 25 dead months after government officials warned miners that the mountain above them was guaranteed to crumble. The landslide struck around 3:00 a.m. (2100 GMT Wednesday), when most residents were asleep. Aside from those confirmed dead, more than 100 people are believed to be buried in the rubble in Napnapan village in Pantukan township, Compostela Valley provincial Gov. Arturo Uy said. Army Lt. Col. Camilo Ligayo said about 120 soldiers were heading to the area to help dig for survivors and bodies. Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said he had warned residents and local officials last year of a fissure on a ridge of the mountain that geologists said was "highly susceptible" to landslides that could occur anytime. "We were absolute that it will give in," he told The Associated Press. "It was a 100 percent warning. We told them it's just a matter of time. ... This is it. This is what happened this morning." Thousands of poor Filipinos dig and pan for gold in the area, hoping to strike it rich despite the dangers of largely unregulated mining. The tunnels are often unstable and landslides and accidents are common. Saul Pingoy, a local resident, told DZMM radio that he was sleeping in a house about 50 yards (meters) away from the landslide when he felt the ground shake and heard rocks falling on roofs. It wasn't raining at the time, he added. "The mountain itself was already sending a warning with falling rocks. That's why we were woken up ... and then it collapsed," he said. "Big boulders and the ground from the mountain covered the area." Compostela Valley province is on the main southern Philippine island of Mindanao, where flash floods triggered by a tropical storm killed more than 1,250 people in December. Gov. Uy said miners and their families had been warned that the heavy rains made the small tunnels that honeycomb the hills and mountains more dangerous. Uy said authorities advised residents as early as Dec. 16 when Tropical Storm Washi was sweeping across Mindanao to leave their tunnels, "but unfortunately some have not responded to our advisories." Hundreds of residents near the site of Thursday's slide were forced to evacuate last April after a landslide killed about 20 people. Uy said it was difficult to monitor the "extremely high risk area" because it is so remote and some residents who were evacuated in April may have "sneaked back." Paje said the April slide occured in Kingking village beside Napnapan. Both villages are part of a 74,130-acre (30,000-hectare) watershed that has been scarred by landslides over the years. He said the fissure discovered last year has been aggravated by rainwater saturation and continuous diggings by the miners. He urged local officials to stop giving small-scale mining permits, now estimated to number about 3,000 all around the watershed. "Had they listened to us and stopped the entry (of miners), there would have been no casualty," he said. © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.