Storm and Flood in the Philippines Leave Dozens Dead

The latest storm in the Philippines, accompanied by floods and landslides, has claimed the lives of at least 53 people; over one million citizens of the country have been forced to seek shelter in temporary accommodations following the storm that began in early December, marking one of the largest contemporary displacements. The United Nations has described the displacement of this number of citizens due to the storm as one of the largest emergency relocations in peacetime. The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported on January 1 that another 50,000 households have been affected by the current storm 'Jangmi.' The news website Rappler in the Philippines quoted Alexander Pama, a senior government official, stating that Manila has done everything necessary in response to the new storm. Media in the country have described the new tropical storm as being comparable in intensity and damage to the severe storm 'Hagupit' (which began on December 1). Forecasts indicate that storm 'Jangmi' will continue to affect the Philippines until January 2. Meanwhile, nearly 250,000 people in Malaysia, another Southeast Asian country, have also been forced to leave their homes due to flooding. The recent floods in Malaysia are considered the worst in the past decade and have drawn criticism towards the Kuala Lumpur government for not showing an immediate response. Adverse weather conditions have also complicated search operations for the AirAsia plane that crashed in the waters off Java. Weather conditions have been cited as one of the possible reasons for the AirAsia crash, alongside a series of other factors; although the cause of the Airbus's crash is still unknown, the weather was poor at the time it disappeared from radar, and the flight crew had requested a change in altitude just moments before it vanished. Children have taken refuge in coconut trees to escape the storm 'Hagupit.'