Super typhoon leaves 10 dead in Philippines, over 192,00 affected

The death toll from Super Typhoon Ragasa rose to 10 in the Philippines, with 13 injured, police and government officials said on Wednesday.

The weather bureau warned of a new storm threatening the eastern region.

192,000 people were affected, including nearly 25,000 who were displaced, according to the national disaster agency.

The fatalities included seven fishermen whose boat capsised off the northern province of Cagayan, which bore the brunt of Ragasa’s onslaught, the coast guard said.

Previously four were reported dead and three missing.

The fishing boat docked at a pier in Sta Ana to seek shelter from Ragasa, but the crew did not leave the boat so some of them were trapped underneath the ill-fated vessel.

The other fatalities were found floating in nearby mangroves, the coast guard said.

In Benguet province, one person died and seven were injured when landslides struck vehicles on a highway in Tuba town, the disaster agency said.

A village security officer died when he was hit by a fallen tree branch in Calayan town in Cagayan.

While a 67-year-old man died after he slipped and fell into a river in La Union province, according to police and the coast guard.

“The weather bureau reported that Ragasa, locally known as Nando, maintained its strength as it exited the Philippines, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph).

“It gusts of up to 230 kph while moving toward southern China.”

As Ragasa moved out of the Philippines’ area, a new tropical storm was approaching the country and expected to bring rain by Thursday, the weather bureau said.

Tropical Storm Bualoi, locally called Opong, was intensifying as it churned towards the Philippines’ eastern provinces, with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph and gusts of up to 105 kph.

“Opong will continue to intensify while over the Philippine Sea and may reach typhoon category before making landfall over Bicol Region.

“It will then weaken as it crosses the archipelago, although it will likely remain as a typhoon or severe tropical storm during the passage,” the weather bureau said.