At least 31 people have been killed by flooding caused by heavy rains over the past day in Maguindanao province in southern Philippines, the country’s authorities said Friday.
The dead are concentrated in the towns of Datu odin Sinsuat (with at least 16 deaths) and Datu Blah Sinsuat (with a dozen dead). In addition, five other people have drowned in the municipality of Upi and more than 67,000 have been affected throughout the country.
Nasrullah Imam, head of the provincial disaster management office, said that «most have died from floods and landslides, which have left homes buried.» «Some victims have been trapped in their homes,» he said before warning that the death toll could be higher as people are unaccounted for.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has warned that tropical storm ‘Nalgae’ is expected to bring heavy rainfall in the western part of the archipelago by the weekend.
The tropical storm is moving at about 25 kilometers per hour with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour, according to the country’s weather agency.
