Tropical Storm Enteng has unleashed devastating floods and landslides across the Philippines, claiming the lives of 11 people as it brought heavy rains for a second consecutive day, officials reported on Monday. The storm, which brushed past the Bicol region southeast of Manila overnight Sunday, is expected to make landfall later on Monday along the northeast coast of Luzon, the country’s main island.
In anticipation of the storm’s impact, authorities took preventive measures by closing schools and government offices across the capital, Manila. Ferry services in the affected areas were suspended, and 29 domestic flights were canceled as a safety precaution due to the severe weather conditions.
Among the casualties, three people, including a pregnant woman, tragically lost their lives in a landslide on Monday in Antipolo, a city near Manila that has been battered by relentless rains. According to city information officer Relly Bonifacio, the bodies of four other individuals, who were victims of drowning, were also recovered from three different areas within the same hilly community after creeks overflowed overnight.
In the Bicol city of Naga, the situation was equally dire. A man was electrocuted as floodwaters surged, and a baby girl drowned amidst the rising waters, according to local rescuers. Joshua Tuazon, a representative of the city’s public safety office, described the severity of the floods, stating that “the floods were above head height in some areas,” and noted that hundreds of residents had been successfully rescued. Despite these efforts, over 300 people remained in evacuation camps as of Monday, with floodwaters in the city of 210,000 people receding slowly.
Elsewhere, two landslides struck the central city of Cebu on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of two people and causing damage to five houses, according to the local disaster office.
As Tropical Storm Enteng continued its path northwards off the coast of Luzon on Monday afternoon, its sustained winds intensified to 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour, up from 75 kilometers per hour earlier in the day, as reported by the state weather service in an updated bulletin. The storm is expected to make landfall in the northern province of Isabela later in the day, placing four towns and approximately 33,000 people directly in its path.
Provincial disaster chief Constante Foronda urged local officials to prepare communities for potential evacuations from flood-prone areas. The weather service also issued a warning about the “minimal to moderate risk” of large coastal waves posing a threat to communities as the storm approaches land.
The Philippines, frequently hit by around 20 major storms and typhoons each year, continues to grapple with the damage to homes, and infrastructure, and the tragic loss of life caused by these natural disasters.