MANILA (Xinhua) — The death toll from tropical storm Kristine that slammed into the Philippines this week has risen to 90, with at least 36 still missing, due to massive flooding and landslides, the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday.
The NDRRMC said Kristine impacted over 5.7 million people across 16 regions across the Southeast Asian country.
Kristine, the 11th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, barrelled across the Philippines, leaving a trail of destruction with disastrous flooding and landslides on Luzon island, particularly in the Bicol and Calabarzon regions, and areas in the central and southern Philippines.
Authorities are still searching for the 36 missing people who were either buried in landslides or washed away by the floods. The Philippine Coast Guard said Kristine also stranded over 8,000 people at seaports.
Two days after Kristine exited the Philippines on Friday, disaster victims are still desperately waiting for food and clean water. Some victims forced to leave their flooded houses at the height of the flooding started returning to their homes as the flood receded on Saturday.
Kristine’s estimated damage to infrastructure was 825 million pesos (roughly 14 million U.S. dollars), while damage to agriculture was 1.432 billion pesos (24.5 million dollars). An average of 20 typhoons lash the Philippines yearly.
