MARAGUNDON, Philippines – A powerful rainstorm triggered landslides and flash floods that killed at least 338 people in the eastern Philippines, officials said Tuesday, and rescuers raced to save those stranded in three coastal towns before a typhoon strikes the hard-hit region.
At least 150 people were reported missing, and the region was largely cut off by landslides and floodwaters that washed away bridges and roads. Helicopter crews struggled to find places to land and dropped food to residents huddled on rooftops.
Authorities planned to send a coast guard boat to three stricken towns in Quezon province, east of the capital, to deliver supplies or pick up evacuees. Forecasters predicted a new typhoon circling off the Pacific coast could hit the area as early as today.
Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman went to Quezon province Tuesday after the overnight storm and reported that at least 306 people were killed there and 150 others were missing. Thirty-two people died elsewhere, authorities said.
Soliman said bad weather and blocked roads prevented officials from delivering relief supplies and rescuing people from rooftops in parts of the province 40 miles east of Manila.
Soliman said officials told residents to seek high ground because rain was continuing in the mountains, threatening more floods and landslides. She said most of the dead were in three Quezon province towns: Real, Infanta and General Nakar.
Associated Press
A rescuer on Tuesday carries one of the survivors of the storm that hit Quezon province in the eastern Philippines.
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