MANILA, Philippines – Rescuers in the Philippines scrambled on Saturday to reach people still stranded in areas made inaccessible by flooding from Tropical Storm Trami, which has killed at least 97 people.
Trami battered the main island of Luzon, forcing nearly half a million people to flee their homes as heavy rain caused widespread floods and landslides. In the hardest-hit Bicol region, residents trapped on rooftops and upper floors were still awaiting desperately needed assistance, officials said.
“The floods have yet to subside. Calls asking for help are still pouring in,” said Bicol regional police director Andre Dizon. “We need to rescue them as soon as possible because starvation can be a problem. We’re hearing reports that children are already getting sick.”
In the region’s Camarines Sur province, food and drinking water were in increasingly short supply as some areas remained completely submerged and difficult to access, Dizon added.
President Ferdinand Marcos visited the province on Saturday to inspect the damage, acknowledging that the country’s flood control systems were overwhelmed. “This is climate change. This is all new, so we have to come up with new solutions too,” he said.
The death toll rose on Saturday as rescuers retrieved more bodies from floodwaters and landslide sites, mostly from the Bicol region and Batangas province, south of Manila. Police have recorded 36 deaths in Bicol, most due to drowning, while the number of confirmed dead in Batangas has risen to 54, with at least 21 people missing.
In Batangas, two hours south of the capital, rescuers were using backhoes and shovels to dig through mud as high as three metres in a desperate search for the missing in areas hit by landslides. Cadaver-sniffing dogs have also been deployed to assist the operations.
“We are still hoping for the best,” said Batangas police chief Jacinto Malinao. “We will not stop until all bodies are retrieved.”
The national disaster agency said on Saturday that about 495,000 people have been displaced by the flooding, which has submerged hundreds of villages in swathes of the northern Philippines. Rescue efforts are ongoing as authorities work to provide aid and relief to the affected communities.
