PH races to reach stranded as Kristine's death toll rises to 20

Philippine rescuers raced Thursday to reach residents still stranded by flooding in the hard-hit Bicol region, after torrential rains from Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) submerged villages and killed more than 20 people.

Schools and government offices were shuttered across the northern Philippines as the storm made landfall on the country's main island of Luzon after first paving a trail of destruction south of the capital.

"As of 7 am, we have 20 dead (throughout the Bicol region)," regional police chief Brigadier General Andre Dizon told reporters Thursday, adding the figure had yet to be finalized. 

"Most of them from drowning or buried in landslides."

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Dizon said seven of the fatalities were reported in Naga, five in Catanduanes, four in Albay, and one each in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and Masbate — all in the Bicol Region.

In Naga city and the town of Nabua, rescuers were using boats to reach residents still stranded on rooftops.

"They are seeking assistance through (Facebook) posts and that's how we learned about them," Bicol police spokeswoman Luisa Calubaquib told AFP.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed 908 police personnel in Bicol to provide assistance to the victims of the inclement weather.

In its 11 a.m. update on Thursday, state weather bureau PAGASA said Kristine was located in the vicinity of Aguinaldo, Ifugao moving westward at 20 kph with maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph.

The severe tropical storm was expected to cross Northern Luzon over the next 12 hours and may emerge over the waters west of Ilocos Region on Thursday afternoon.

It was predicted to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Friday.

More than 30,000 people were forced to evacuate in Bicol on Wednesday, police said, as "unexpectedly high" flooding turned streets into rivers.

Lorie Dela Cruz of PAGASA told AFP a month's worth of rainfall had been dumped in the region in a 24-hour window from 8 a.m. on October 22 to the following morning, with Camarines Sur province and Albay province's Legazpi city particularly hard hit.

On Thursday, rescuers were searching for a missing fisherman after a boat sunk in the waters off Bulacan province, west of Manila, the local disaster agency told AFP.

"Rescuing people was difficult since the wind was strong and was causing a strong current," said Geraldine Martinez, a rescue officer in Bulacan's Obando municipality.

A day earlier, 11 people drowned in floodwaters in the Bicol city of Naga, according to local police chief Erwin Rebellion.

In Quezon province, southeast of the capital, an elderly woman drowned, while a toddler was also killed after falling into a flooded canal, police said.

The Office of Civil Defense reported one person was killed by a falling tree branch.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), a total of 2,077,643 people (431,738 families) all over the country have been affected by Kristine as of Thursday morning.

In its 8 a.m. report, the NDRRMC said the affected population are Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Caraga, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and Cordillera Administrative Region.

Over half-a-million Meralco customers, meanwhile, have been affected by power service interruptions mostly in Cavite and Laguna, according to the power distributor.

As for telecommunications, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) directed concerned firms to ensure continuity of services amid the onslaught of the cyclone.

Storms and typhoons are common around the region at this time of year.

However, a recent study showed that they are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people. —with GMA Integrated News