‘Ofel’ leaves 24 people dead

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The death toll from tropical storm “Ofel,” which exited the Philippines Friday, October 26, climbed sharply to 24 as casualty reports from isolated central islands and far-flung areas flooded in, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC).

Drowning and landslides were given as the causes of 11 deaths on small islands in the country’s mid-section, the NDRRMC said in its latest bulletin on Saturday, October 27.

The other 13 victims were carried away by flash floods, buried by landslides, hit by falling trees and flying debris, electrocuted, or died from exposure to the cold, it added.

The official death toll had stood at 10 on Friday night.

Nineteen people were injured in the storm, while 8 fishermen from the central and southern Philippines remained missing at sea, the agency said. Rescuers are also still searching for a man believed buried in a landslide on the main southern island of Mindanao.

The NDRRMC added that over 15,000 people displaced by the storm were still staying at government buildings and receiving disaster aid.

Food and other forms of aid were given to nearly 40,000 others who chose to remain at home or temporarily moved in with relatives or friends, it added.

The agency placed the storm’s total damage to infrastructure and agriculture at P36.64 million. – Rappler.com, with a report from Agence France-Presse