Deadly Typhoon Koppu hits the Philippines, leaves a death toll

News Corp Australia Network


Deadly Typhoon Koppu hits the Philippines, leaves a death toll

THE death toll from Typhoon Koppu in the Philippines has risen to 14, as emergency teams rescued victims stranded by floods and began clearing areas damaged by the storm.

In the biggest loss of life reported from a single incident, seven people drowned when a motorboat capsized in choppy seas off Iloilo City, 460 kilometres south of Manila, the coastguard said. The boat had just left port on Sunday when it was battered by huge waves and strong winds.

Thirty-two people were rescued, but two were still missing.

Koppu slammed into the country early on Sunday, displacing thousands, toppling trees and cutting off electricity.


Koppu slammed into the country early on Sunday, displacing thousands, toppling trees and cutting off electricity.

More than 20,000 people were displaced, while about 6530 passengers were stranded after dozens of flights were cancelled and sea travel was suspended.

Although it had weakened since the weekend, the slow-moving typhoon was still over the very northern part of the country, packing maximum winds of 120 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 150km/h, the weather bureau said.

It was moving north-northeast at just five km/h.

The typhoon’s slow passage meant it had time to inflict more rain and wind damage compared to a faster-moving storm of the same strength.

Other fatalities included three people hit by fallen trees or collapsed masonry, and two who drowned in floods in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.

One man was buried in a landslide in Benguet province, while another was electrocuted in Tarlac province, local and disaster relief officials said.

Soldiers, police officers and other emergency workers were dispatched to Nueva Ecija, a rice-growing province where murky floodwaters reached up to rooftops in some places.

Stranded residents’ calls for help were sent via the disaster relief agency’s website and Twitter account, or through radio stations.

“My family trapped on this location, please send rescue,” one tweet said, which included a map.

Another tweet said, “Please help them. Several houses have already been swept away.”