MANILA, Oct 20 (NNN-PNA) – Eight people were killed and two remain missing, as tropical storm Fengshen slammed the Philippines yesterday, the Office of Civil Defence (OCD), said.
OCD spokesperson, Junie Castillo, said, five people were pinned to death by a fallen tree in the municipality of Pitogo in Quezon province, south-east of Manila, and three others were killed in the central Philippines’ Western Visayas region.
“We are currently verifying and validating the initial reported eight deaths to determine whether their deaths were storm-related,” Castillo said.
Castillo said that, search and rescue operations were ongoing for two people who were reported missing in a landslide, that hit the municipality of Quezon in Bukidnon province, in southern Philippines.
He said that, Fengshen has affected 15,000 families, or approximately 30,000 individuals, across the country. Twenty-two thousand people have been evacuated, he added.
Castillo said, the storm triggered floods and landslides in central and southern Philippines.
The state weather bureau forecast Fengshen to leave the Philippines this morning.
An average of 20 typhoons slam into the Philippines yearly.– NNN-PNA
