Emergency responders waded through thick mud and inundated streets to evacuate trapped residents on inflatable rubber kayaks, carrying children and elderly residents out.
After wreaking havoc in the south, Storm Nalgae, also locally dubbed Paeng, was moving to the northwest, the Philippine Weather Service said early Saturday. It warned of more possible flooding, landslides and torrential rains across the country, including the capital Manila.
Last year alone, tropical cyclones in the Philippines, an archipelago and former U.S. colony in the Pacific Ocean, led to over 100 deaths and millions of dollars in damage, as The Washington Post has reported.
With scientists expecting extreme weather events to worsen around the world, most of the country’s population of 109 million lives in the path of a storm.
Saturday’s cyclone left dozens of vessels stranded at ports, canceled domestic flights and caused power outages.
The Coast Guard dispatched units to help evacuate people to shelters and suspended ferries in much of the archipelago, where traveling by boat is common.
Police and soldiers also took part in rescue operations. The floods cut off roads and bridges, displacing at least 8,000 people, the country’s national disaster management council said early Saturday, as it convened an emergency meeting. Many more people were reported to have evacuated, with the storm expected to sweep through more cities.
