1 of 3 | Villagers dry a mattress on the roof of a damaged home in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Trami in Talisay, Batangas Province, Philippines, on Saturday. Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA-EFE
Tropical Storm Trami has killed at least 126 and displaced 500,000 due to flooding and landslides in the northern Philippines on Thursday and Friday.
The storm is the 11th to strike the Philippines and reached the island nation on Wednesday before leaving the northwestern area on Friday. Advertisement
The storm system dumped the equivalent of about two months of rainfall in 24 hours as it moved over the area Friday.
The resulting flooding and landslides caused massive devastation and deaths, and have left many areas isolated.
The storm system caused a death toll that’s likely to rise with many people still missing.
The storm is known as Tropical Storm Kristine in the Philippines but Tropical Storm Trami in other areas and had sustained winds of 59 mph and gusts of up to 99 mph while moving east to west across the northern Philippines from Wednesday night until leaving the area Friday.
Most of the storm deaths were reported in the Bicol region located southeast of the Philippines capital of Manila.
Government and local forces have rescued thousands of villagers who were trapped by the flooding, and about 1,500 police officers have helped with storm mitigation efforts. Advertisement
Although the storm system has moved west and away from the Philippines, it might make a rare repeat appearance due to a high-pressure system in the South China Sea.
The winds from that system might force the storm system to move back toward the Philippines next week, which could add to the deaths and devastation.
The storm already is the deadliest to strike the Philippines this year.
