At least XNUMX people have been killed and seven are missing in the Philippines after a powerful hurricane was followed by heavy rains that caused floods and landslides, authorities said. Torrential rains swept across Monday night on entire areas of the most populous island of the Luzon archipelago before Tropical Storm Compass headed for the South China Sea.
Six people have been killed and two are missing in the mountainous province of Benghazi. A man drowned in the coastal province of Kagayan, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Four people were killed in flash floods in two towns on Palawan Island on the west side of the archipelago, while five people are still missing, officials said.
Coast Guard men involved in rescue operations in the two cities found three bodies in the northern province of Ilokos Sur, but the disaster management service could not immediately confirm whether the deaths were linked to the storm. "Eleven communities were flooded but the situation calmed down on Tuesday morning," Rosellio Scheding, communications officer for Kagayan province, told AFP.
Main roads and bridges remain flooded, he added, as water began to recede today. "Nearly seven to eight communities remain flooded… following a sewer problem," said Earl Timbankaya, disaster manager in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Each year, nearly 20 storms and hurricanes hit the Philippines, destroying crops and infrastructure and helping millions of people live in poverty. A warmer atmosphere holds more water, so climate change can cause extreme rainfall and large floods.