Twenty-six people are not found while nine injured have been identified. Other floods and landslides are still possible with the expected fall of new rains.
mo12345lemonde with AFP
At least twenty-five people died in the floods that occurred on Christmas Day in the Philippines, according to a new assessment of the authorities published Wednesday, December 28.
Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes after torrential rains overwhelmed villages, cities and highways, cutting short the Christmas festivities in this mainly Catholic country. According to the National Agency for Disaster Management, more than 81,000 people took refuge in evacuation centers and efforts were still deployed to help the most affected populations.
At least thirteen people died, most of them drowned, in the province of Western Misamis and on the southern island of Mindanao, the agency announced. Twenty-six people are not found while nine injured have been identified.
a country vulnerable to natural disasters
According to meteorological forecasts, moderate to heavy rains remained likely on Wednesday and Thursday in central and southern regions, due to a low pressure zone from the coast which could turn into tropical depression.
“Floods and landslides caused by rain are possible, especially in areas prone or very subject to these vagaries,” said the State Meteorological Bureau.
The authorities announced on Wednesday that air recognition operations were underway above Western Misamis to measure the extent of the damage.
The time had started to deteriorate at the end of last week in the Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters and where a large part of the 110 million inhabitants were about to celebrate Christmas.