Quinta death toll rises to 11

MANILA, Philippines – The death toll of tropical storm Quinta was raised to 11 as more bodies were found after the flooding in Visayas, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRM) said on Friday, December 28.

Two people are still missing in Batangas and Capiz.

In its 6 am situation update, the NDRRMC noted most of the victims drowned in the floods and 5 came from Iloilo, while Eastern Samar registered 4 and Capiz and Leyte one each.

Three of the fatalities in Eastern Samar belonged to the same family and perished when a tree fell on their hut and crushed them near Maydolong.

The death toll from the latest storm was relatively low as the public, alarmed by the huge number of fatalities left by typhoon Pablo, were quick to take precautionary measures, NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos told AFP on Thursday.

“They were all aware that a typhoon was coming. They were all aware of what happened with [Pablo]. The deaths are minimal compared to [Pablo],” he said.

As of Friday, the total number of affected population has topped 28,000 in regions V, VI, VII and VIII, and about 15,600 people have been evacuated.

Quinta made landfall on Tuesday and has now virtually dissipated over the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) after being downgraded first to a tropical depression and finally to a low pressure area.

It is the 17th and presumably last storm to affect the archipelago in 2012. – Rappler.com