At least 12 people have died in the Philippines after Tropical Cyclone Koppu brought heavy rainfall, strong winds, storm surge of up to 1.5 metres along its path.
Much of the threat of Koppu comes from the massive amount of rainfall dumped across the island of Luzon. Whole villages are under water and local witnesses report of people climbing onto rooftops to escape the flooding. Baguio in Benguet Province saw over 500 mm of rain in 24 hours.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that almost 300,000 people have been affected. As of yesterday, 19 October, over 70,000 people had been displaced and many are currently staying in 376 evacuation centres, mostly in Central Luzon.
NDRRMC report that almost 500 incidents of flooding have been reported across several different provinces or areas, including Pangasinan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bulacan, Pampagna, Zambales, Cagayan and Benguet.
The disaster agency said that it has rescued over 170 people from the floods. The Philippines Red Cross said yesterday that they had rescued 111 people. In a statement yesterday, the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) said:
“the Philippine Red Cross has responded with hot meals for more than 4,100 affected people, while welfare desks provided information to residents who had to leave their homes. It is expected that distributions of non-food items from IFRC stock, including tarpaulins, jerry cans, sheets and blankets, will start tomorrow”.
Casualties
NDRRMC also say in their most recent report that at least 12 people have died and 7 injured. Some of the victims have died in landslides caused by the heavy rain. Other victims have drowned in flood water, others as a result of damage caused by strong winds.
Local media are reporting that the death toll is significantly higher, and may already exceed 20.
Rainfall
Heavy rain and strong winds are expected to affected wide areas of Luzon until Wednesday 21 October 2015.
Rainfall figures according to WMO figures, for a 24 hour period between 18 and 19 October 2015:
Baguio – 374.0 mm
Dagupan – 132.5 mm
Calayan – 101.2 mm
24 hour period between 19 and 20 October 2015:
Baguio – 579.4 mm
Itbayat – 166.1 mm
Koppu is the second strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year. The latest update from PAGASA, the Philippines meteorological agency, said Koppu, known locally as Lando, was estimated to be 110 km West of Calayan, Cagayan as of 14:00 local time, 20 October 2015.
