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At least 42 dead in floods, landslides in Philippines

Published:Friday | October 28, 2022 | 2:15 PM
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers use boats to evacuate residents from flooded areas due to Tropical Storm Nalgae at Parang, Maguindanao province, southern Philippines on Friday, October 28, 2022. Floodwaters rapidly rose in many low-lying villages, forcing some villagers to climb to their roofs, where they were rescued by army troops, police and volunteers, officials said. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)

COTABATO, Philippines (AP) — Flash floods and landslides set off by torrential rains swamped a southern Philippine province, killing at least 42 people, leaving 16 others missing and trapping some residents on their roofs, officials said Friday.

Most of the victims were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in hard-hit Maguindanao province, said Naguib Sinarimbo, the interior minister for a five-province Muslim autonomous region run by former guerrillas.

The unusually intense rains were triggered by Tropical Storm Nalgae, which was expected to slam into the country's eastern coast from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, forecasters said.

The stormy weather prompted the coast guard to prohibit sea travel in dangerously rough seas as millions of Filipinos planned to travel over a long weekend to visit the tombs of relatives and for family reunions on All Saints' Day in the largely Roman Catholic nation.

“The amount of rainwater that came down overnight was unusually (heavy) and flowed down mountainsides and swelled rivers,” Sinarimbo told The Associated Press by telephone.

“I hope the casualty numbers won't rise further but there are still a few communities we haven't reached,” Sinarimbo said, adding the rains had eased since Friday morning, causing floods to start to recede in several towns.

Sinarimbo said based on reports from mayors, governors and disaster-response officials, 27 died mostly by drowning and landslides in Datu Odin Sinsuat town, 10 in Datu Blah Sinsuat town and five others in Upi town, all in Maguindanao.

Six people were missing in Datu Blah Sinsuat and 10 others in Upi, Sinarimbo said.

A rescue team reported that the bodies of at least 11 villagers were recovered in Kusiong, a tribal village at the foot of a mountain in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where floods and landslides also hit houses in the community, Sinarimbo said.

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