400,000 evacuated, 3 dead as fresh thunders

The Philippines were evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and confirmed at least three deaths on Friday as a serious tropical storm that hit the country, still feeling the results of the Ragasa super hurricane.

Political defense officials in the Bicol area of ​​South Luzon said three people had been killed as the walls collapsed and the trees were uprooted by a severe BUALOI tropical storm, which sweeps west from the northwest at 110 kilometers.

The launchers in a province were covered under Pews as the roof of a church where they were protective were torn by the storm.

“About 4 in the morning, the wind destroyed the door, windows and ceiling of the church,” said Jerome Martinez, a municipal engineer in the southern Luzon island province, said. AFP.

“This is one of the strongest winds I’ve ever experienced,” he said, adding that some children had suffered minor injuries that required stitches.

“I think more people should still be evacuated because many houses have been destroyed and many roofs have dug away, now block roads and roads.”

About 400,000 people have been evacuated, Bernardo Alejandro, a civil defense official, said in a Friday press briefing.

“We are launching a lot of large trees and subversive electrical positions because many roads are impassable,” said Frandell Anthony Abellera, rescuer in the city of Masbate Bicol, he said AFP by phone.

“The rain was strong. But the wind was stronger.”

The videos shared in the social media and verified by AFP showed people who use boats or sinking through waist water to browse flooded roads south of the Central Philippines Visayas islands.

Public anger

The Philippines are affected on average 20 thunderstorms and hurricanes each year, placing millions of people in areas prone to disasters in constant poverty.

Scientists warn that thunderstorms are becoming more and more powerful as people are heated by the effects of human -driven climate change.

Authorities warned on Thursday of “high risk of life -threatening thunderstorms” up to three meters (10 feet) with the upcoming storm.

Thousands also remain displaced after the Super Typhoon Ragasa, which passed over the northern end of the country and killed at least nine people earlier a week.

Storms come as a public anger, violates a scandal that includes false flood control projects believed to have taxpayers billions of dollars.

Taiwan rescuers are looking for missing

Rescue workers in Taiwan fought with thick mud on Friday, searching for 11 people still missing after a super ragasa hurricane this week sent a wall of water to a small town on the east coast.

The death of flood death was kept stable at 14.

The heavy rains in Hualien County caused a so -called barrier lake in the mountains to overflow on Tuesday and release a thick mud of water and mud in Guangfu.

While flood waters have retreated, dark gray mud continues to cover large parts of the area, creating problems for both residents and rescuers.

Rescue workers, sometimes sinking into the mud until their waist, have cut holes in the roofs of the buildings to check for missing.

A man who gave his family name as Hwang said he was still looking for the body of his older sister.

“He died at home because it was completely full of mud and there was no way to get it out,” he said.

Many of the deaths occurred on the first floors of the houses, as people, often elderly, were unable to follow government orders to move up and off the road.

Huang Ju-Hsing, 88, has been trapped at his home on the second floor, as the flood blocks access to the Kato Family Grocery.

“There was no time to escape, we told him to hurry and go up,” said Chang Hsueh-Mei’s wife, who managed to fight over the debris and go out.

“When you face an emergency, you suddenly find the courage to do anything,” said Chang, 78, after climbing through the corridors of fallen objects to reach her husband.

Mountain, sparsely populated and largely rural, Hualien is one of Taiwan’s top tourist destinations because of his wild beauty.

What to do for Lake Barrier, formed by previous hurricanes, which has now shrunk in size only 12% of what was before the disaster, remains an unresolved issue.

The barrier lakes are formed when the rocks, landslides or other natural blockages make a barrier in a river, normally in a valley, blocking and holding the water back, blocking or even stopping natural drainage.

The government has ruled out using explosives to break the bank by holding water, fearing it could bring more landslides and worsen the situation.

The disaster has not affected the critical Taiwan semiconductor industry, located on the west coast of the island.