Tropical Storm has Already Claimed At Least 67 Lives in the Philippines

At least 67 people have died in the Philippines due to the landslides and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Megi. This is evident from a new balance sheet that the authorities published on Wednesday.

 

Most of the victims, at least 48 according to local authorities, occurred around the town of Baybay in Leyte province. There, several villages are covered by mudslides. Rescue workers resumed the search for survivors on Wednesday morning.

At least thirteen people were also killed in Pilar, a village with about 400 inhabitants that is also located in Leyte. The storm also killed at least 3 people in Negros Oriental province and 3 residents in Mindanao Island, the National Disaster Response Agency said.

Megi, or Agaton, as the storm is locally called, was the Philippines’ first tropical storm of the year. On Sunday, he made landfall on the east coast with gusts of wind up to 105 kilometres per hour. As a result, about 22,600 people in 17 provinces had to leave their homes.