Malaysia and the Philippines have been battered by heavy rain and flash floods in recent days, killing dozens, officials said on Tuesday.
The death toll from the flooding and landslides in the Philippines wrought by Tropical Storm Seniang rose to 53 yesterday, officials said, with some regions saying they were caught off guard by the deluge.
In Catbalogan in Samar province, 19 people died in a landslide that left homes and vehicles buried under rocks and mud, Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said, adding that the town had been surprised by the landslide.
Photo: Reuters
Seniang affected 121,737 people, 80,186 of which are in evacuation centers, the National Disaster Monitoring Agency said.
The storm’s death toll was nearly triple that of the last major storm to hit the country, Super Typhoon Hagupit, earlier this month.
In Misamis Oriental province, floods flattened rice and corn fields resulting in an estimated 400 million pesos (US$9 million) in damages, Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano told DZMM radio.
In Leyte, the rains brought landslides and floods that closed off major roads, Leyte Governor Leopoldo Domenico Petilla said on DZMM.
In Malaysia, the worst flooding in a decade forced nearly a quarter of a million people from their homes, officials said, with the government coming under renewed fire for its perceived slow response.
At least 21 people have been killed and eight others are missing in the country’s flooded northeast, police said yesterday.
They said 14 of the deaths were in the worst-hit state of Kelantan, where about 158,476 people were displaced, while four people died in Terengganu State and three in Pahang State. There are also reports of outbreaks of flu and diarrhea.
The number forced from their homes in the other affected states — Pahang, Perak, Terengganu and Johor — totaled 83,570.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who came under fire after being filmed playing golf with US President Barack Obama in Hawaii when the disaster happened, said he was saddened by the flooding.
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor