TROPICAL STORM TRAMI LEAVES 46 DEAD, 20 MISSING IN PHILIPPINES

MANILA, Oct 25 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The death toll from tropical storm Trami that slammed into the Philippines this week has risen to 46, with at least 20 other people still missing, authorities said Friday, reported Xinhua.

In a report, Office of Civil Defence administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said nine regions across the country have reported deaths related to Trami.

Bicol, a region southeast of Manila that bore the brunt of the storm, reported most of the deaths, with 28, followed by Calabarzon region, with 15.

Other regions in central and southern Philippines also reported Trami-related deaths.

Trami, the 11th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, barrelled across the main Luzon island, leaving a trail of destruction with disastrous flooding and landslides in the Bicol and Calabarzon regions.

Flash floods and landslides hit several regions in the Philippines on Tuesday, as Trami brought heavy rains and left many areas without power.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the storm impacted over 2.6 million people in at least 15 regions across the Southeast Asian country.

The figures, including the death toll, could rise as the police and other agencies continue to assess Trami's impact as access opens to some isolated villages.

As of Friday, the agency said 293 roads and 67 bridges nationwide remain not passable. Power has yet to be restored in some regions.

The state weather bureau said Trami was spotted 255 kilometres southwest of Ilocos Sur province in the northern Philippines on Friday morning. It was moving west-northwestward, packing 95 km per hour winds and gusts of up to 151 km per hour.

The state weather bureau forecast Trami to exit the Philippines on Friday afternoon or evening.

An average of 20 typhoons lash the Philippines yearly. 

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA