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Tropical storm leaves trail of destruction in Philippines
Manila, (AFP) May 14, 2006 The Philippines began cleaning up Sunday after Tropical Storm Chanchu claimed 32 lives, left large parts of the country underwater and forced thousands to flee their homes. By midday Sunday Chanchu was 430 kilometres (266 miles) out in the South China Sea, charting a west-southwesterly course and packing winds of up to 140 kilometres (86 miles) per hour, according to the weather bureau. Rain and strong winds continued to lash parts of southern Luzon and the central Visayas, which bore the brunt of the storm. According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council 32 people died, eight are missing and 13 were injured. More than 42,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes as the storm triggered landslides and widespread flooding in the southern Tagalog, Bicol, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas regions. Floodwater submerged parts of two provinces in the Visayas and several villages in Leyte's Sogod town were cut off after landslides and floods damaged a bridge and a highway. In the worst accident a small ferry capsized just off the central city of Masbate early Friday and drowned 21 people. Three people are still missing and 18 survived after the vessel was swamped by rough seas about a mile offshore. A second ferry sank while docked at a port in Albay province but there were no reports of casualties. Coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Commander Joseph Coyme said the passenger ferry Filipinas Princess, which was reported missing Friday night with 700 people onboard, had been found anchored off a cove near Mindoro island. He said tugboats had reached the vessel and would help it back to port. "There are no problems. The passengers are safe and well," he said. Power, which had been down in many areas including the capital Manila, is slowly being restored. In Manila teams were still clearing fallen trees and debris from streets and residential areas. By Sunday afternoon airline services out of Manila were back to normal and most of the ports in the worst affected areas of the country had reopened. But a planned meeting of economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the central resort island of Boracay had to be cancelled due to the storm. The meeting will now take place in Manila on Monday. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
One year on, Zimbabwe's demolition victims still roughing it
Harare, (AFP) May 14, 2006 Winnie Gondo has to crouch to get in and out of her "house", a dome-like structure the height of an average primary schoolboy as she and thousands of Zimbabweans still reel in the aftermath of the country's infamous clean-up operation, one year on. |
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