3 dead as heavy rains hit Bicol, Visayas

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) – Three people drowned and one other person was missing in Bicol after a storm swept though the region bringing heavy rain and rough seas, civil defence officials said Thursday, March 29.

A fisherman died off Catanduanes province while a woman and her six-year-old son drowned while trying to cross a swollen river near Sipocot, Camarines Sur, said Jay Ramos, a civil defense official of the Bicol region.

All three died on Monday, March 26, he said.

“We’ve had continuous rains here for the past three days,” Ramos told AFP by telephone.

Another fisherman went missing off Tolosa, Leyte on Tuesday, March 27, the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in Manila.

The council reported scattered flooding across the central islands, with about 200 people forced to leave their homes for higher ground.

The storm has since crossed over into the South China Sea, the state weather service said.

The Philippines is struck by about 20 storms and typhoons every year, bringing death and misery to millions.

Tropical storm Washi (Sendong) wrought flash floods in two southern cities in December last year, killing more than 1,200 people. – Agence France-Presse