14 November 2020 01:12 am
MANILA AFP, 13 Nov, 2020-
The death toll in the typhoon-battered Philippines has risen to 14, an official said Friday, after some of the worst flooding in years swamped villages and forced thousands to flee their homes.
Torrential rain dumped by Typhoon Vamco -- the third powerful storm to hit the country in as many weeks -- inundated low-lying areas of Manila and surrounding provinces, trapping people on rooftops and balconies. As floodwaters receded and residents began to return home, the scale of the destruction left by Vamco became clearer.
Hundreds of thousands were still without power after Vamco lashed the most populous island of Luzon on Wednesday and Thursday, triggering landslides, toppling trees and cutting off roads.
The typhoon claimed at least 14 lives and left another eight injured and 14 missing, said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.