MANILA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from catastrophic flooding and landslides triggered by tropical cyclones Wipha, Francisco, and Co-May and the enhanced southwest monsoon that slammed into the Philippines since last week has risen to 26, with at least eight people remaining unaccounted for, the Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Friday.
The NDRRMC reported that the storms dumped substantial rainfall, affecting nearly 1.3 million families, or approximately 4.68 million people, nationwide.
The search continues for eight missing people washed away by the flash floods.
It is estimated that the trail of destruction caused 4.85 billion pesos (roughly 84.9 million U.S. dollars) in infrastructure damage and 430.78 million pesos (about 7.5 million dollars) in agricultural losses.
Typhoon Wipha, the third typhoon to strike the Philippines this year, swept across the country from July 17, causing severe flooding and landslides across Luzon and other regions. Before cleanup could begin, tropical storms Francisco and Co-May brought another wave of heavy rain.
In an advisory on Friday afternoon, the state weather bureau, PAGASA, forecast that Co-May will accelerate north-northeastward and exit the Philippines Saturday morning.
The bureau said Co-May, with sustained winds of 85 km per hour and gusts of up to 115 kph, is moving north-northeastward at 40 kph and is expected to continue weakening due to increasingly unfavorable conditions.
An average of 20 typhoons lash the Philippines yearly. ■
