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Typhoon Kammuri death toll rises to four in Philippines
MANILA, Dec 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least four people are known to have died
after a powerful typhoon ripped through the Philippines, officials said
Wednesday, with high-speed winds prompting large-scale evacuations, tearing
off roofs and shutting down Manila airport.
Typhoon Kammuri wreaked havoc on islands and provinces south of the capital
Manila on Tuesday, sending nearly 600,000 people fleeing their homes, civil
defence officials said.
Three people died on the islands of Mindoro and Marinduque after being hit
by falling trees and other objects, and a fourth drowned on the island of
Leyte, police and officials reported.
“Our hope is those (deaths) would be the last,” civil defence official
Mark Timbal told AFP.
The impact could have been worse if not for the preparations made by
communities and local governments however, Timbal added, with several
provinces reporting zero casualties.
“We saw an improvement in the behaviour of the people who are now more
willing to participate in evacuation procedures,” said Timbal, who is the
spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“Social media is a factor, while people also became more concerned over
their safety in light of the series of deadly earthquakes that hit the
country in recent months.”
“Pre-emptive evacuation was the key,” said Sher Saises, a civil defence
official in the central city of Tacloban — ground zero for Super Typhoon
Haiyan, the country’s deadliest on record which left more than 7,300 people
dead or missing in 2013.
Other civil defence officials who spoke to AFP described how residents,
including about half a million from the Bicol region southeast of Manila,
sought safety from high waves, floods and landslides days before the storm
made landfall.
Manila airport shut down for 12 hours Tuesday as a precaution, affecting
nearly 500 flights, while half the day’s programme at the Southeast Asian
Games, hosted by Manila and nearby cities, was rescheduled over safety
concerns.
Four other people drowned in the Bicol region this week during the passage
of Kammuri, police told AFP, but added they could not immediately determine
whether these deaths were typhoon-related.
The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year,
killing hundreds and putting people in disaster-prone areas in a state of
constant poverty.
Earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions are also frequent hazards.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1652 hrs