Monday, August 29, 2011

Super-typhoon leaves 13 dead in Philippines

Terra Daily via AFP: Super-typhoon Nanmadol left at least 13 people dead after hitting the Philippines, and the toll is expected to rise as hopes of finding those missing fade, the civil defence chief said Monday. Over 61,000 people are still evacuated from their homes after Nanmadol, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, lashed the northern edge of the main island of Luzon on the weekend, causing landslides and floods.

The 13 killed were mostly buried in landslides, including two children in northern Baguio who were killed in an avalanche of garbage at the city dumpsite, said head of civil defence operations Benito Ramos. Eight other people are still missing across the country, feared washed away at sea, in raging rivers, or buried under garbage, he told AFP.

"The missing are most likely dead but we are still searching for them, it is unlikely they are still alive after two or three days," he said. Ramos said the dead and missing in garbage dumps were scavengers who made their living foraging for items to salvage, despite the risk that storms could cause the mountain of trash to cascade down upon them....

From NASA, Typhoon Nanmadol (Mina) (14W) making landfall over the Philippines on August 27, 2011.

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