Typhoon Mangkhut toll in Philippines increases to 65

Representational image/Agency

The death toll from super typhoon Mangkhut has increased to 65 in the Philippines while 64 people were injured and 43 remain missing, police said on Monday. The Philippines National Police (PNP) said 54 of the fatalities were from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) in Luzon island while seven were from Cagayan Valley, two in central Luzon and one each in Ilocos and Metro Manila, reports Xinhua news agency.

The CAR, one of the worst-hit areas, is the only land-locked region of the Philippines. Presidential adviser Francis Tolentino said search and rescue operations continued to find the missing people especially in Itogon town where people, mostly miners and their families, are still feared trapped after a landslide in the remote village of Ucab.

Mangkhut, which made landfall on Saturday morning in the northern Philippines, exited this Southeast Asian country later in the night. However, the strongest typhoon in the region so far this year left a trail of destruction across the Philippines main Luzon island.

The Philippines National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said nearly 220,000 residents were still being served inside and outside evacuation centres provided by local governments until Monday morning. The government declared a state of emergency in seven provinces and cities due to the typhoon.

Mangkhut is the 15th typhoon to slam the Philippines so far this year. Typhoons hit the Philippines around 19 times a year, bringing strong winds and heavy rain, resulting in flooding, damage to crops, houses and buildings, and deaths. In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan devastated the central Philippines, killing more than 6,000 people. In 2009, typhoon Ketsana caused massive flooding in Metro Manila, killing more than 700 people.

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