A tropical storm unleashed floods and landslides in the Philippines, killing at least 45 people and sending rescuers searching for missing victims Saturday.
Emergency responders waded through thick mud and inundated streets to evacuate trapped residents via inflatable rubber kayaks, carrying children and elderly residents out to safety.
After wreaking havoc in the south, Tropical Storm Nalgae, also locally dubbed Paeng, was moving to the northwest, the Philippine Weather Service said early Saturday. It warned of additional possible flooding, landslides and torrential rains across the country, including the capital, Manila.
Last year alone, tropical cyclones in the Philippines, an archipelago and former U.S. colony in the Pacific Ocean, led to more than 100 deaths and millions of dollars of damage, as The Washington Post has reported.
With scientists expecting extreme weather events to worsen around the world, most of the country’s population of 109 million lives in the path of storms.
Saturday’s cyclone left dozens of vessels stranded at ports, canceled domestic flights and caused power outages.
The Coast Guard dispatched units to help evacuate people to shelters and suspended ferries in much of the archipelago, where traveling by boat is common.
Police and soldiers also took part in rescue operations. The floods cut off roads and bridges, displacing at least 8,000 people, the country’s national disaster management council said early Saturday, as it convened an emergency meeting. Many more people were reported to have evacuated their homes, with the storm expected to sweep through more cities.
