Typhoon Durian has claimed at least 388 lives in its trail through the central Philippines. Initially 200 body bags were ordered and were being kept at the regional health office in the region. Glen Rabonza head of the National Office of Civil Defence, had earlier predicted that the death toll from 8 villages engulfed in the mud slides could reach 200, hence the 200 body bags.
Now it appears they need more.
The Philippine National Red Cross has stated in its latest release that 388 people have been killed in the landslides and as many as 96 are reported trapped or missing in various areas. The search for survivors is still going on.
This is in the aftermath of the powerful 224 km/h typhoon Durian, just one degree less than a category five super typhoon, smashing into the central Philippines on Thursday afternoon. The rains caused by Durian brought mud and volcanic rocks down the eastern and southeastern slopes of Mount Mayon into Daraga, Busay and Santo Domingo villages in Albay province on Friday.
At least one person has been killed in the adjacent Camarines Sur province. Its capital has also been flattened.
In several areas, such as the island of Marinduque, trees have been uprooted and lamp posts have been ripped out. Roads have been blocked and homes have been damaged in the floods. Sea travel had been halted too.
Aerial surveillance is now being carried out by helicopters in areas where mobile phones signals have failed and power lines are down.
Although stronger than some earlier typhoons Durian changed its course and therefore did not hit Metro Manila on Thursday night. In spite of experiencing heavy rains early on Friday Manila has not been flooded nor have any casualties been reported.
Durian has now been reported at being 50km southwest of Lubang Island, 100 kilometers southwest of Manila at 11:00 AM today. It had maximum sustained winds of 150 km per hour and gustiness of up to 185 kph and was gradually moving west at 15kph.
Since it is now moving towards the South China Sea, where it is expected to weaken into a tropical storm by Saturday morning and thence towards Vietnam, the ban on sea travel has been lifted by the Philippine coast guard.
ABS-CBN, the local television network has quoted Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as being distraught by the deaths. At a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council in Manila she compared the typhoon to cyclone Katrina in the United States, and has ordered that the military assist medical teams in reaching submerged villages.
Typhoons are all too familiar to the Philippines as it is hit by about twenty typhoons on an average every year and the risk of mudslides has been increased as a result of illegal logging and mining.
Three super typhoons have hit the Philippines in the space of the last four months, Durian being the latest. Xangsane had hit metro Manila in late August and Cimaron, hit northern Luzon in October. The death toll in the first two instances added up to at least 200.
2,840 or 13,928 people were evacuated from 16 municipalities and three cities in Bicol and Southern Tagalog, all in central Philippines.
In August there had been fears of a Mayon eruption as this active volcano had been discharging lava and rocks for several months earlier on.
Rice and coconuts are grown in the central Bicol region. It is now estimated by agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap that coconut, rice and hemp farmers will have incurred around $10 million in losses.
