Manila, Philippines: Tropical Storm Trami (Kristine) is wreaking havoc across the Philippines, becoming the deadliest and most destructive storm in the Southeast Asian archipelago so far this year, according to the government’s disaster-response agency.
Rising fatalities are being reported as heavy rains and strong winds continue to impact communities.
President Ferdinand Marcos stated that the unusually high amount of rainfall—some areas receiving up to two months’ worth in just 24 hours—overwhelmed flood control systems.
President said that, “The water was just too much, we’re not finished with our rescue efforts yet.”
More than 4.2 million people were in the path of the storm, including nearly half a million, who mostly fled to more than 6,400 emergency shelters in several provinces.
During an emergency cabinet meeting, President Marcos expressed concern over forecasts indicating that the storm—the 11th to strike the Philippines this year—could make a U-turn next week due to high-pressure winds in the South China Sea. The storm is expected to impact Vietnam next.
Each year, approximately 20 storms and typhoons hit the Philippines, an archipelago located between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, resulted in over 7,300 deaths or missing persons and devastated entire villages.
The national disaster agency reported that approximately 560,000 people have been displaced by floods that submerged hundreds of villages across northern Philippines.
A recent study indicated that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly developing closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly, and lasting longer over land as a result of climate change.
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