THE death toll from Typhoon Vamco that battered the Philippines this week has climbed to 53, reported Xinhua news agency quoting the Philippine National Police (PNP) as saying today.

The PNP said 22 people were still missing in the flash floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon which tore through the main island of Luzon from Wednesday to Thursday.

The toll is likely to rise as rescuers continue to search for the missing.

The focus now is on rescuing victims in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela in the northern Philippines. Using rubber boats, rescuers scramble to pluck residents stranded on rooftops of submerged houses.

Philippine Coast Guard footage showed a big swath of the provinces submerged in brown flood water triggered by spilling from Magat Dam, a large rock-fill dam on the Magat River in the main island of Luzon.

Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said in an interview with radio DZBB today that one rescuer was electrocuted last night.

Mamba, who described the flooding as the worst in memory, appealed for helicopters, adding that some of the flooded areas cannot be accessed by land.

Evacuation centres are full, he said, adding some victims were moving in with neighbours amid Covid-19 concerns.

Typhoon Vamco battered a big part of Luzon, home to approximately half of the country’s 110 million population and 70% of economic activity.

Non-stop torrential rain have been dumped by Vamco and the cyclones before it forced operators of dams in Luzon to open the floodgates to release water, as the reservoir’s levels breached the spilling marks. – Bernama, November 14, 2020.