Manila: Heavy rains and floods battered the northeastern Philippines for a third day on Wednesday, swamping homes of about a half million people and raising the death toll to at least 25 with 31 others missing.
Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of nearly half of the population of eastern Albay province after Tropical Storm Nock-ten set off pounding rains since Monday and sent residents to seek shelter in churches and village halls, said Gov Joey Salceda.
Regional civil defense chief Rafaelito Alejandro said floodwaters in Albay started to subside by noon today after the storm made landfall in Aurora, about 370 kilometres to the north.
It packed maximum winds of 95 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour.
Alejandro said at least 20 people died in the Bicol region, which includes Albay. Eight of those were buried in landslides in Albay's Polangui township and in nearby Camarines Norte province.
Other fatalities included a mother who was bitten by a poisonous snake that was swept into her home by a flashflood near the Albay provincial capital of Legazpi.
National civil defense administrator Benito Ramos said two others drowned in Cavite province just south of Manila and one each in the provinces of Quezon, Marinduque and Iloilo.
Most of the missing are poor fishermen who ventured out to sea despite the stormy weather. A fishing boat with 32 men on board capsized in rough waters off central Masbate province early today. Ten fishermen were rescued but the coast guard has not found the others, bringing the number of missing in the storm to 31, Ramos said.
The storm weakened slightly after hitting land, said forecaster Sonny Pajarilla.
It is expected to blow out of the country to the South China Sea by tomorrow after cutting through the heart of Luzon Island.
Authorities cut off electricity to most of the region to prevent electrocutions, Ramos said.
One of the victims during the power outage was Salceda's mother, who fell on her head after slipping in the dark bathroom, Alejandro said, adding that she wasn't counted as a storm fatality.
Power was restored in Legazpi and most of the other provincial urban centers later today. Workers removed toppled trees, rocks and other debris blocking roads and firefighters hosed away mud from the streets.
Many domestic flights were canceled and about 1,600 ferry passengers stranded.
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