Tropical storm death toll in Philippines rises to 110

MANILA — Rescuers in the Philippines were diving into a lake and scouring isolated villages on Sunday to locate dozens of missing people as the death toll from Tropical Storm Trami hit 110.

Trami rammed into the Philippines on Thursday, forcing more than half a million people to flee their homes, while at least 42 people remain missing in the storm's aftermath, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

It announced on Sunday night that at least 110 people were reported dead, though no provincial breakdown was provided for the death toll.

Police in the hardest-hit Bicol region have recorded 41 deaths, most because of drowning.

"We are still receiving many calls and we are trying to save as many people as we can," Bicol regional police director Andre Dizon told AFP. "Hopefully, there will be no more deaths."

Dizon added that "many residents" in the region's Camarines Sur Province are still trapped on roofs and the upper floors of their homes.

South of Manila, the death toll in Batangas Province rose to 60, provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao told AFP.

Most of the deaths in Batangas have been attributed to rain-induced landslides.

Eight deaths were recorded in other provinces, bringing an AFP tally to 109, calculated from official police and disaster agency sources.

But a "higher death toll is possible in the coming days since rescuers can now reach previously isolated places", Civil Defense Office's spokesperson Edgar Posadas said.

After leaving a path of destruction in the Philippines, Trami hit central Vietnam on Sunday, threatening to trigger heavy rains and dangerous floods.

Rainfall in several parts of provinces from Quang Binh to Quang Nam is forecast to reach 60 centimeters on Sunday and Monday, according to the national weather forecast agency.

"The risks of floods are high in urban areas from Ha Tinh to Binh Dinh provinces," the agency said.

Heavy rains are also expected to hit the Central Highlands, the country's key coffee growing area, according to the agency.

Agencies Via Xinhua