Floods and landslides devastate the Philippines | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

More than 100 people are dead or missing after Tropical Storm Trami ravaged the Philippines, causing flooding and landslides and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

The aftermath of Trami, known in the Philippines as Kristine, was “horrific” and a period of “tremendous loss,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said. Saturday in a Facebook post.

Nearly 130 people are dead or missing in the northwest Philippines, The Associated Press reported, adding that half a million people have fled to emergency centers. The storm is the deadliest of the eleven to hit the Philippines this year.

In some areas, one or two months’ worth of rainfall – more than 50 centimeters – fell in 24 hours, local media reported.

“The water was just too much,” Marcos said, adding that many areas were flooded and difficult to access.

Officials have mobilized government resources to provide food, medical supplies and financial assistance to those affected by the floods and landslides, Marcos said, adding that the storm has “left communities underwater, displaced families and shaken livelihoods.”

Talisay, a town in Batangas province, about 40 miles south of Manila, was one of several towns ravaged by Trami. A state of emergency was declared in Quezon City, northeast of Manila, the Philippine Civil Defense Agency said on Sunday.

Bicol was among the worst affected regions, with water inundating several residential areas and agricultural lands. Floods have engulfed much of Naga City, local media reported.

“I make this promise to our people,” Marcos said on social media. ‘Help is on the way. It will come by land, by air and even by sea.”

Marcos expressed concern at an emergency meeting that the storm, which made landfall in central Vietnam on Sunday, could make a U-turn this week as it is pushed back by winds in the South China Sea, the AP reported .

On Saturday, Marcos visited those affected by the storm in Bula, Camarines Sur, including at evacuation centers, his office said.

A statement from his office said Saturday that it is crucial to find a “long-term solution” to the flooding, which officials attribute to climate change.

Rain, fatal floods and typhoons regularly hit the Philippines, a country with more than 7,000 islands. Year-round flooding has fueled concerns that climate change is causing extreme weather and making such events more common.

Droughts and floods are closely linked to human-induced warming, which is making the world wetter by increasing humidity and heat indexes, causing more frequent extreme precipitation events, The Washington Post reports.