Two people were killed and thousands fled strong winds and floods yesterday as a tropical depression hit the central Philippines, following deadly back-to-back storms.
The deaths were reported on Cebu Island, where an elderly woman was killed in a landslide while a man died after he hit his head on the pavement as the storm cut off electricity in the area.
Tropical Storm Kai-tak killed 47 people in the central Philippines last month, while Typhoon Tembin killed 240 on Mindanao.
The state weather service said that the new disturbance was poised to hit Palawan Island with gusts of 65kph later yesterday.
“The residents are really sad. It is tough that we have three storms coming one after another. People have lost their livelihood and have had no rest since Christmas,” Palawan information officer Gil Acosta said.
Palawan accounted for 37 of the recorded Tembin deaths, with 60 others still missing, Acosta added.
About 4,000 people across the central Philippines have moved to safer ground to escape high winds and flooding, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council said.
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