Tropical Storm Trami Devastates Philippines, Death Toll Rises to 82

Northern Philippines in tragic bed as Tropical Storm Trami leaves 82 dead with more persons missing as rescue team struggles to pull out victims stuck in thick mud and debris. The storm rainfall equivalent to the two months in 48 hours caused heavy floods and landslides in the region. Ferdinand Marcos said that access in the devastated Bicol remains a problem with many people still on rooftops waiting for a boat to be rescued.

In the Batangas province where the storm hit hard the provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao said 43 people were killed. The three towns of Laurel, Talisay and Agoncillo were severely affected with 16 people still missing in Talisay town. Heavy mud accumulations present serious difficulties for rescue efforts as the material can reach three meters in depth and contain debris and boulders.

The Bicol region has 29 people, while Marcos said that several people in Naga and Legazpi cities remain unidentified as the authorities have limited access. The soil is also very much saturated with water and this has made it to cause unprecedented landslides in regions that have never experienced such incidences before making rescuing more challenging and raising chances of more loss of lives.

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Mass Evacuation and Climate Change Impact

Some 320,000 people have been evacuated as flooding has turned streets into rivers and some towns to be buried under volcanic material. State weather specialist Jofren Habaluyas said Batangas province got 391.3 millimeters of rain on October 24 and 25, which is equivalent to two months of rain.

The Philippines for instance experiences about 20 major storm per year and will be experiencing even harder times as recent research show storms in the Asia Pacific region are forming nearer coastal areas and are cyclones are gathering strength faster because of climate change. This pattern implies rising demand for the development of better strategies to prevent and manage disasters.