MANILA: Philippine rescuers waded through chest-deep floodwaters on Wednesday (Oct 23) to reach residents trapped by Tropical Storm Trami, which has killed seven people and forced thousands to evacuate as it barrels toward the east coast.
Torrential rain driven by the storm has turned streets into rivers, submerged entire villages and buried some vehicles in volcanic sediment set loose by the downpour.
At least 32,000 people have fled their homes in the northern Philippines, police said, as the storm edges closer to the Southeast Asian country’s main island of Luzon.
In the Bicol region, about 400km southeast of the capital Manila, “unexpectedly high” flooding was complicating rescue efforts, said police.
“We sent police rescue teams but they struggled to enter some areas because the flooding was high and the current was so strong,” regional police spokeswoman Luisa Calubaquib told AFP.
One person drowned inside a bus that was swept away by floodwaters in the Bicol city of Naga, where three others also drowned, police officer Bryan Ortinero told AFP.
An elderly woman drowned in Quezon province southeast of the capital, while a toddler was also killed after falling into a flooded canal, police said.
Manila’s civil defence office reported one person was killed by a falling tree branch.
