MANILA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has climbed to 80 from severe tropical storm Nalgae, which unleashed floods and set off landslides in several parts of the Philippines, a government disaster agency said late Sunday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a bulletin that 38 fatalities have already been confirmed, while 42 are still being verified. It added that 31 more persons remain missing.
The agency said 40 of the deaths were from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), 18 from the Western Visayas region, 12 from the Calabarzon Region near Metro Manila, four from the Zamboanga Peninsula, three in the Soccsksargen region, two in Eastern Visayas Region and one in the Bicol region.
Most of the missing people were reported from BARMM.
The agency said Nalgae affected over 1.2 million people. About 150 roads and 60 bridges are impassable as of Sunday, most of which are in the Cagayan Valley region in the northern Philippines.
During the weekend, over 150 cities and municipalities experienced power interruptions, while seven areas reported water interruptions.
People in flood-ravaged towns started cleaning up on Sunday, scooping mud, and hosing off dirt, falling trees and branches fractured by winds.
Nalgae is the 16th tropical cyclone to lash the Philippines this year. It slammed into Catanduanes, an island province in the Bicol region, before dawn Saturday.
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries globally, mainly due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire and Pacific typhoon belt. On average, the archipelagic country experiences 20 typhoons yearly, some of which are intense and destructive.
In April, the tropical storm Megi dumped rains in central and southern parts of the Philippines, inundating many areas and causing landslides, resulting in over 220 deaths. ■