Storm kills 82 people in Philippines | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Storm Trami swept from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, killing at least 82 people in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to seek more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people trapped, some on their roofs .

The onslaught may not be over yet: State forecasters have raised the rare possibility that the storm – the 11th and one of the deadliest to hit the Philippines this year – could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high pressure wind in the South China Sea.

A Philippine provincial police chief said Friday that 49 people were killed in landslides triggered by Trami in Batangas province, south of Manila. That brought the total death toll from the storm to at least 82.

Eleven other villagers are still missing in Batangas, Col. Jacinto Malinao Jr. said. to The Associated Press by phone from the lakeside town of Talisay, where he stood next to a villager whose wife and child were buried in the deep mound of mud, boulders and trees.

Using a backhoe and shovels, police searched through 10 feet of mud, rocks and rubble and found part of a head and foot that apparently belonged to his missing family.

“He is just devastated,” Malinao said of the villager, a fisherman, whose wife and child were buried in the landslide on Thursday afternoon amid heavy rain while he was fishing in cages in a lake.

“He is in shock and cannot talk, and we are just asking him to point out where their bedroom was located so we can dig in that area,” Malinao said.

The storm was last tracked Friday afternoon 400 kilometers west of the northwestern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur with sustained winds of 95 km per hour and gusts of 125 km per hour. It was moving northwest at a speed of 30 km/h towards Vietnam, which is expected to be hit by Trami from Sunday.

However, the Philippine Weather Bureau said it is possible that high-pressure winds and other weather factors in the South China Sea could force the storm to turn back towards the Philippines.

President Ferdinand Marcos sounded irritated and inquired about the prospect of widespread destruction during an emergency meeting with Cabinet members and disaster management officials on Friday.

“What’s the forecast for that? Is it possible for it to return?” Marcos asked.

A government forecaster told him that Trami could turn west of the Philippines early next week, but it was more likely to blow away from the Philippines again without making landfall.

“It doesn’t have to come ashore to cause damage,” Marcos said, referring to the persistent rainstorms caused by Trami in the Philippines.

Marcos also mentioned a new storm in the Pacific Ocean that could threaten the country again.

State forecaster Jofren Habaluyas told the AP that Trami’s possible reversal has drawn interest from government weather experts in Asia, including those from Japan, which has provided information to the Philippines to help monitor the storm.

In the foothills of Mayon Volcano in Albay province, mud and other debris flowed into nearby towns when the storm hit, flooding homes and cars with black-colored mudslides.

More than 2.6 million people were affected by the deluge, with nearly 320,000 fleeing to evacuation centers or the homes of relatives, disaster management officials said.