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Tropical Storm Trami brings severe flooding and landslides to the Philippines. Widespread flooding and landslides set off by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble for motorboats to rescue trapped villagers, some on roofs. But the onslaught may not be over: State forecasters raised the rare possibility that the storm — the 11th and one of the strongest to hit the Philippines this year — could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea. Tens of thousands remained displaced after fleeing floods driven by a torrential downpour that dumped two months’ worth of rainfall in just two days, 392 mm in some areas. The storm – known as Kristine in the Philippines – was blowing over Aguinaldo town in the mountain province of Ifugao after dawn with sustained winds up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 160 kph (99 mph). It was blowing westward and was forecast to enter the South China Sea later on Thursday, according to state forecasters. Government offices and schools across the main island of Luzon remained shuttered on Oct 25, and storm surge warnings were still in place along the west coast, with potential waves as high as two metres. An official tally released late on Oct 24 reported 193,000 people evacuated in the face of flooding that turned streets into rivers and half-buried some towns in sludge-like volcanic sediment set loose by the storm. In the foothills of Mayon volcano in Albay province, mud and other debris cascaded toward nearby towns as the storm hit, engulfing houses and cars in black-colored mudflows. More than 2.6 million people were affected by the deluge, with nearly 320,000 people fleeing into evacuation centers or relatives’ homes, disaster-mitigation officials said. About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure. But a recent study showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change
