98 dead as flood, mudslide hit Philippines

At least 98 people have been confirmed dead as ‘Storm Nalgae’ rocked communities in the southern provinces of the Philippines.

According to Al Jazeera, more than half of the casualties were from flooding and mudslides that wrecked villages on the southern island of Mindanao throughout the weekend.

The country’s disaster agency said Maguindanao in the Bangsamoro autonomous region accounted for 53 deaths.

At least 63 people were reported missing, while 69 people were injured.

The heavy rain began on October 27 and reached its peak last weekend, ripping through the country at a wind speed said to be 95km/h (59mph).

The infrastructural damage wrecked by the storm has been estimated at 758 million Philippine pesos ($13 million) before it blew out of the country into the South China sea on Sunday.

Rescue parties wadded through thigh-high mud with bamboo to search for bodies in the mudslide left in its wake.

On Monday, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the Philippines president, conducted aerial inspections of the submerged communities and damaged properties.

Speaking on his discovery in a tweet, he said facilities like “dikes and flood control walls” have suffered heavy damage, but “utilities have been restored to about 90% of normal”.

“After aerial recon of Cavite damage, we see most evacuees have returned to their homes. The rest are being housed and attended to in evacuation centres. However, infrastructure especially dikes and flood control walls have been heavily damaged,” he wrote.

“Utilities have been restored to about 90% of normal. We are providing assistance to those needing to repair their homes with money to purchase building materials.”

But the severity of Nalgae has not been recorded in years.