Tropical storm Kompasu set off landslides and flash floods on Tuesday as it ripped through the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said.
More than 6,500 people were transferred from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods. Incessant rain and strong winds also toppled trees and knocked down power.
Six people died in landslides that damaged their houses in the mountainous northern province of Benguet. Three people in the region remain missing. A security guard at a seaport drowned after he was swept away by strong waves in Claveria town in Cagayan, disaster response officials said.
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Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, left, conducts an inspection during a relief operation in Batac, a city in Ilocos Norte province, Philippines, on Tuesday, after Tropical Cyclone Kompasu hit the northern island of Luzon. Photo: EPA -
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, a government agency, said 11 people had died and seven were missing. Photo: EPA -
A rescue operation is under way at a flooded village near the town of Gonzaga, Cagayan province, as seen in this photo, made available by the Gonzaga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. Photo: EPA -
A rescue operation at a flooded village near the town of Gonzaga, Cagayan province. Photo: EPA -
Philippine Coast Guard staff on a rubber dinghy. Photo: EPA -
Philippine Coast Guard personnel on a rubber dinghy conduct a rescue operation at a flooded village near Santa Teresita, Cagayan province. Photo: EPA -
A rescue operation at a flooded village near the town of Gonzaga, Cagayan province. Photo: EPA -
A street in Baguio, Philippines, after Tropical Cyclone Kompasu struck. Photo: Reuters -
The Chico River in Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines. Photo: Reuters -
The Chico River in Bontoc, Mountain Province, Philippines. Photo: Reuters -
Rescuers search a house buried by a landslide caused by Tropical Cyclone Kompasu in Baguio, northern Philippines, on Tuesday. Photo: AP -
Philippine Coast Guard conducts a rescue operation following a hit of Tropical Cyclone Kompasu in Cagayan province, Philippines. Photo: Reuters -
Philippine Coast Guard conducts a rescue operation following a hit of the tropical cyclone Kompasu in Cagayan province, Philippines. Photo: Reuters -
Landslides and flash floods were set off by the storm, which tore through the tip of the northern Philippines overnight on Monday then blew away on Tuesday, officials said. Photo: AP -
Landslides and flash floods were set off by the storm, which tore through the tip of the northern Philippines overnight on Monday then blew away on Tuesday, officials said. Photo: AP
In western Palawan province, four people died and another four went missing in flashfloods in Narra town following monsoon rains enhanced by the storm. The coastguard rescued elderly residents and children trapped in submerged homes on Monday and carried them through floodwaters in a rural village in Brooke’s Point town in Palawan.
Kompasu has left the Philippines and was last tracked over the South China Sea heading towards China’s Hainan island and later Vietnam.
About 20 storms and typhoons each year lash the Philippines, which also lies in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a region often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making the South-East Asian archipelago one of the most disaster-prone in the world.
