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Typhoon Vamco: at least 67 killed in Philippines’ deadliest storm of year
- The far north of Luzon island, where many areas remained submerged even days later, was hit by some of the worst flooding in more than four decades
- Six cyclones have now hit the Philippines in a span of just four weeks, including Vamco and Goni – the world’s most powerful this year
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Reutersin Manila
The death toll from the deadliest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67, while many areas remained submerged in a northern region hit by the worst flooding in more than four decades, officials said on Sunday.
President Rodrigo Duterte flew to Tuguegarao province to assess the situation in Cagayan Valley region, which was heavily flooded after Typhoon Vamco dumped rain over swathes of the main Luzon island, including the capital, metropolitan Manila.
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Typhoon Vamco leaves at least 42 dead, residents picking up pieces
Typhoon Vamco leaves at least 42 dead, residents picking up pieces
Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in southern Luzon provinces, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other regions, said Mark Timbal, the disaster management agency spokesman.
Twelve people were still missing and nearly 26,000 houses were damaged by Vamco, he said.
“This is the worst flooding that we had in the last 45 years,” Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said during a briefing with Duterte. “We see that it is worsening every year.”
The accumulated effects of weather disturbances and huge volumes of water from a dam affected thousands of families in Cagayan, some of whom had fled to rooftops to escape two-storey high floods.
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