Home » World » Tropical Storm Megi Leaves At Least 137 Dead in the Philippines – NBC 7 South Florida

Tropical Storm Megi Leaves At Least 137 Dead in the Philippines – NBC 7 South Florida

MANILA, Philippines – At least 137 people have died and 28 are missing in the Philippines as a result of tropical storm Megi, which devastated the central and southern part of the archipelago, according to the latest report released this Friday by the authorities.

Most of the victims counted by the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management perished in the eastern province of Leyte, where landslides buried several towns and the final death toll is feared to be much higher.

The emergency teams continue the excavation work, especially in the municipalities of Baybay and Abuyog, where the images released of the tragedy show entire villages, at the foot of the mountains, buried under mud and floods.

TROPICAL STORM MEGI HAS BEEN BATTERING THE CENTRAL PHILIPPINES

In Baybay, a small initial landslide alerted the neighbors, some of whom managed to escape, but an even larger avalanche surprised many others, in addition to also affecting members of the emergency team, the mayor told the media. , Jose Carlos Cari.

Tropical storm Megi, baptized in the Philippines as Agaton, entered the country’s east coast on Sunday in a northwesterly direction, causing floods and landslides in the Visayas and Mindadao archipelagos, in the center and south of the country.

In total, more than 1.6 million people have been affected by the phenomenon, which has caused more than 580 floods and 89 landslides throughout the country.

Megi is the first major storm to hit the disaster-prone country in 2022, which records an average of 20 typhoons each year.

This storm, which hit this majority-Catholic country before the celebration of Holy Week, surprised the authorities, who had declared a minimum alert before it made landfall.

In December, Typhoon Rai, the most powerful to hit the Philippines last year, left at least 409 dead; while Typhoon Haiyán, the largest to have made landfall, caused some 7,000 fatalities in November 2013.

The Philippines is located in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, due to which the country is prone to natural disasters.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.