Storm Trami blows away from Philippines, 82 dead

MANILA: Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people, who were trapped, some on their roofs.

But the onslaught may not be over: State forecasters raised the rare possibility that the storm — the 11th and one of the deadliest to hit the Philippines this year — could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea.

A Philippine provincial police chief said Friday that 49 people were killed mostly in landslides set off by Trami in Batangas province south of Manila. That brought the overall death toll from the storm to at least 82.

Eleven other villagers remain missing in Batangas, Col. Jacinto Malinao Jr. told The Associated Press by telephone from the lakeside town of Talisay, where he stood beside a villager whose wife and child were buried in the deep mound of mud, boulders and trees.

With the use of a backhoe and shovels, police scrambled to search into 10 feet of mud, rocks and debris and found a part of a head and foot that apparently were those of the missing woman and child.

“He’s simply devastated,” Malinao said of the villager, a fisherman, whose wife and child were buried in the landslide that happened Thursday afternoon amid torrential rains while he was away tending to fish cages in a lake.

“He’s in shock and couldn’t speak and we’re only asking him to point to where their bedroom was located so we can dig in that part,” Malinao said.

The storm was last tracked Friday afternoon blowing 410 kilometers (255 miles) west of the northwestern Philippine province of Ilocos Sur with sustained winds of up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts of up to 115 kph (78 mph). It was moving northwestward at 30 kph (19 mph) toward Vietnam, which is forecast to be lashed by Trami starting on Sunday if it stays on course. The Philippine weather agency warned that high-pressure winds in the South China Sea could push Storm Trami back towards the Philippines. President Ferdinand Marcos, frustrated, asked in an emergency meeting about this possibility. A forecaster indicated that Trami might turn towards western Philippines early next week, although it’s likely to veer away without making landfall. Marcos noted ongoing downpours from Trami were causing damage and mentioned another storm brewing in the Pacific.

The storm has resulted in 82 deaths, including 26 in Bicol, southeast of Manila, and at least 27 people are missing. Although Trami did not strengthen into a typhoon, it brought heavy rainfall, leading to flash floods. In Naga city, where 11 drowned, officials pleaded for more rescue boats for stranded residents.

Mudflows near Mayon volcano engulfed homes and cars, affecting over 2.6 million people, with nearly 320,000 seeking shelter.

Schools and government offices have been closed for three days on Luzon.