Increase in Victims of Tropical Storm in the Philippines; 182 Dead and 153 Missing

The Philippine police announced that the number of victims of the tropical storm in the south of the country has reached 182 by Sunday, January 2, while 153 people are still missing. According to Agence France-Presse, Tropical Storm Tembin struck Mindanao Island, the second largest island in the Philippines, on Friday, causing raging waves and flooding that erased a remote village from the map. The Philippines, on average, faces 20 severe storms each year, most of which are deadly. However, Mindanao, home to about 20 million people, rarely encounters such storms. The report states that Storm Tembin has forced about 12,000 residents of Mindanao Island to leave their homes and seek refuge in safer areas. According to the Philippine police, 19 people were killed in the mountainous village of Dalama near the town of Tubod, and 26 others in nearby towns and cities in the Norte province. An officer from the Tubod police told Agence France-Presse, 'The river rose and took all the houses with it. This village no longer exists.' He added that police forces, army soldiers, and volunteers are using shovels and other basic tools to try to recover bodies from the ruins of the village, which had a population of 2,000. On Thursday, an inter-island ship in the northern Quezon province sank after being hit by strong winds and massive waves, resulting in at least five deaths. More than 250 passengers and crew members were rescued. Tropical Storm Tembin, known locally as 'Vinta,' generated winds of 80 kilometers per hour, which intensified to 95 kilometers. It is expected that this storm will move from southern Philippines towards the South China Sea and Vietnam.