1 missing, hundreds flee in storm-ravaged S. Philippines
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E-mail Xinhua, January 4, 2013
One person was missing and hundreds fled their homes due to flood in storm-hit southern Philippines, local officials said Thursday.
An 18-year-old boy was swept away as he tried to cross a raging river in Tiburcia village, Kapalong town, Davao del Norte province late on Wednesday, said mayor Edgardo Timbol.
He said continuous rain since Tuesday prompted disaster officials to issue warnings to residents living near riverbanks.
In New Bataan town, Compostela Valley where at least 430 people died after Typhoon Bopha (local name: Pablo) hit the province last month, about 210 families or close to a thousand people fled to safer grounds due to incessant rains brought by Tropical Depression Auring.
New Bataan mayor Lorenzo Balbin said the flood has caused panic among residents still reeling from the devastating effects of last month's typhoon.
Balbin said army and police were transporting residents to schools designated as evacuation centers.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on its 3 p.m. weather bulletin that Tropical Depression Auring was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 220 kilometers southeast of Palawan province in western Philippines with wind speeds of up to 55 kilometers per hour near the center.
At least 20 tropical storms visit the Philippines annually. Bopha, the 16th typhoon to hit the archipelago in 2012, killed at least 1,050 people and destroyed over 20 billion pesos (50 million U.S. dollars) worth of crops and infrastructures.
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