Philippines: At least 24 people die in widespread flooding and landslides

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Widespread flooding and landslides triggered by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday killed at least 24 people, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble to find motorboats trapped Rescuing villagers, some on rooftops.

The government has closed schools and offices across the main island of Luzon for the second day – except for those urgently needed for disaster relief to protect millions of people afterwards Tropical Storm Trami Crashed into the country's northeastern Isabela province after midnight.

The storm hit the town of Aguinaldo in the mountainous province of Ifugao after dawn, with sustained winds of up to 95 km/h (59 mph) and gusts of up to 160 km/h (99 mph). The wind was blowing westward and was expected to enter the South China Sea later Thursday, according to forecasts from state forecasters.

At least 24 people died, mostly from drowning, in the hard-hit Bicol region and nearby Quezon province. But the death toll was expected to rise as towns and villages isolated by flooding and roads blocked by landslides and fallen trees managed to send out reports, police and provincial officials said .

Most of the storm deaths were reported in the six-province Bicol region southeast of Manila, where at least 20 people died, including seven residents in the city of Naga, which was inundated by flash floods as Trami approached on Tuesday and for more than two months flooded' rainfall in just 24 hours at high tide, regional police chief Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon and other officials said.

While thousands of villagers trapped in floodwaters were rescued by government troops, many more remained to be rescued in the Bicol region on Thursday, including some on rooftops. About 1,500 police officers are deployed for disaster preparedness, said Dizon.

“We can't rescue them all at once because there are so many and we need additional motorboats,” Dizon told The Associated Press by phone. “We are looking for ways to deliver food and water to people who were trapped but could not be evacuated immediately.”

Flash floods swept away and submerged cars in some parts of Naga city, while mudslides from Mayon, one of the country's 24 active volcanoes, submerged several vehicles in nearby Albay province, Dizon said.

Stormy weather continued in the region, hampering relief efforts, officials said.

According to the state disaster management agency, more than two million people were affected by the storm, including 75,400 villagers who were displaced from their homes and seeking refuge on safer ground.

Um 20 storms and typhoons destroy the Philippines every year. In 2013 Typhoon Haiyanone of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and leveled entire villages.