This Saturday, April 16, the number of people killed in the Philippines rose to 167 after the passage of Tropical Storm Megi, which has battered large regions of the archipelago for the past six days, also causing heavy rains, significant flooding and landslides , as well as the displacement of nearly 350,000 residents.
This was announced by the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRMC) in a report released this Saturday, which also detailed it The number of missing has risen to 110.
A total of 64 cities and towns are still without power days after the storm began, while three cities and towns continue to experience water outages, the NDRRMC said in statements collected by Philstar.
According to Philippine authorities, rescue teams in Baybay and Abuyog continue to search for an unknown number of missing people. The storm damaged an estimated four and a half million euros worth of homes, crops, livestock and infrastructure.
The Philippine archipelago experiences an average of 20 tropical cyclones each year. The strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million people in November 2013.
The Philippines Ministry of Agriculture said the agricultural damage caused by Storm Megi last Wednesday, April 13. He also warned about it At least 6,557 farmers and 10,920 hectares of farmland have been affected by produce such as rice, corn and cattle hit by the tropical storm.
The regions hardest hit by the storm’s passage include Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Caraga. According to the CNN network, the bodies of 22 people have been recovered after being buried under a landslide in the eastern province of Leyte. “There were landslides in the communities and then some of the victims were swept away by the floods.said Baybay City Police Chief Joemen Collado.
Storm Megi, downgraded to a tropical depression last Monday, became the first storm to hit the archipelago this year. The Philippines experiences about 20 such storms a year. In fact, the country is still recovering from the effects of Super Typhoon Rai, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2021.
It is recalled that Rai, known locally as Odette, left more than 300 dead and more than 500 injured, according to the Philippine National Police.
Images of the devastation caused by Typhoon Rai in 2021, which hit the Philippines. – Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesSeveral images have been published on social networks over the past few days of the devastation caused by Storm Megi in the Philippines. Aid organizations have been working to evacuate and rescue several residents affected by the natural phenomenon.
On April 14, the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Safeen Dizayee, posted the following message on Twitter as a show of solidarity: “My deepest condolences to all the families who lost loved ones to the flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Megi. On the Philippines. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and those who have disappeared and we wish all those injured a speedy recovery.”
My deepest condolences go out to all the families who lost loved ones to the flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Megi in the Philippines. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and those missing, wishing all those injured a speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/GvJERZY4Ao
– Safeen Dizayee (@SafeenDizayee) April 14, 2022
The pictures show it too areas affected by floods and landslideswhich forces locals to seek shelter to protect their lives.
*With information from Europa Press