The Southeast Asian country’s disaster agency lowered the death toll to 45 from 72 after checking reports from ground staff, including rescue crews searching for 18 missing people. Residents in the capital’s coastal area were evacuated while classes at all levels were suspended, according to the mayor’s office. Manila Mayor Huni Lacuna-Pangan ordered the closure of the city’s cemeteries, where millions of people were expected to visit during the long All Saints Day weekend on Saturday. The tropical storm, which has maximum sustained winds of 95 kilometers (60 mph) and gusts of up to 130 km/h (80 mph), has made several landfalls in the eastern Philippines on Saturday. The state weather service, in its latest bulletin, warned of widespread flooding and landslides due to heavy and sometimes torrential rains in the capital region and nearby provinces as Nalgae crosses the main island of Luzon and heads into the South China Sea. Airlines canceled 116 domestic and international flights to and from the main gateway to the Philippines. Nearly 7,500 passengers, drivers and cargo handlers and 107 ships have been stranded in ports, the coast guard said. Government agencies were giving aid and food packages to affected families, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Twitter. Coast guard personnel guided residents through the flooding, with rescuers using a plastic monoblock chair and an old refrigerator to carry children and the elderly in the central province of Leyte, according to photos released by the agency. The bulk of the deaths, at 40, have been reported in the southern province of Maguindanao. “We are not ruling out the possibility of more casualties,” Maguindanao provincial administrator Cyrus Torrena told radio station DZMM. “But we’re praying it doesn’t go up significantly.” The Philippines receives an average of 20 tropical storms per year. In December, Category 5 Typhoon Rai hit the central provinces, killing 407 and injuring more than 1,100. Report by Neil Jerome Morales. Editing by Chris Reese and William Mallard Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
