Thursday, June 25, 2009

Eight killed in Philippines storm

Press Association: At least eight people have died and eight more are missing after a tropical storm cut across the central Philippines. The storm whipped up tornadoes, triggered landslides and overturned boats amid widespread flooding, officials said. Tropical Storm Nangka, with winds of 40 miles per hour and gusts of up to 50 mph, blew into the South China Sea west of Manila overnight and was expected to track northwest towards the Taiwan Strait this weekend, forecasters said.

Nearly 10,000 people were stranded aboard hundreds of ferries and motorboats, which were ordered to stay docked for safety on Wednesday. As the weather began to clear ships began leaving ports and only about 1,800 passengers remained stranded in 21 ports, officials said.

Two people died when a landslide buried their house in southern Cagayan de Oro city after days of heavy rain. A farmer died on Wednesday when a live electrical wire hit him as he was driving a tractor along a flooded street in central Romblon province, the national disaster agency and police reported….

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