MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The past weekend marked
one of the darkest dates in the Philippines' natural disaster-battering history,
with reports of floods, landslides, flooded streets and a sunken ship with over
700 passengers on board.
The country's Red Cross and disaster relief
authorities on Sunday night announced that at least 229 people have been killed,
700 others missing as typhoon "Fengshen" ripped through the archipelago since
Friday afternoon.
A relative of a ferry passenger cries as
she awaits the latest news inside the office of Sulpicio Lines in the port
area of Cebu city, central Philippines June 22, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
More
people, officials said, are feared dead as the hope of survival is fading for
the 700 people on ferry "M/V Princess of the Star" which completely sank off the
coasts of central Philippine province of Romblon on Sunday.
So far, only four survivors have reached shores and
the rest are "still unaccounted for," Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman
Armand Balilo said.
The 23,000-ton ship of the Sulpicio Lines, carrying
more than 700 people on board, left Manila for central Philippine hub of Cebu on
Friday. It met rough weather at sea on Saturday noon before the caption ordered
to abandon the ship, whose engine had been seriously damaged in high waves and
strong winds.
A relative of a ferry passenger cries as
she awaits the latest news inside the office of Sulpicio Lines in the port
area of Cebu city, central Philippines June 22, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
PCG rescuers reaching the scene on Sunday reported
that they had failed to "see any survivors or bodies around the upturned ship,
or even any life jackets or other flotation devices," the national news network
INQUIRER.NET reported.
"The rescuers will also be scouring the other coastal
areas to check for the passengers," PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo told
INQUIRER.NET.
"I hope and I pray that many are alright," he said.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Coordinating Council
(NDCC) on Sunday morning reported that floods, storm surge, and landslides have
affected 366,444 people, of which, 70,717 are in evacuation centers.
Children wade through knee-deep
floodwaters after a Typhoon Fengshen pelted metro Manila with torrential
rain and high winds June 22, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
According to the disaster relief agency, 229 people
were confirmed dead in typhoon-caused accidents.
Senator Richard Gordon, head of the national Red
Cross, said the death toll could also jump dramatically because the casualties
reports from places such as Central Luzon are yet to reach Manila.
Heavy rains and strong winds totally destroyed 127
houses and partially damaged 16 others, the NDCC said.
Floodwaters in many parts of the Philippines surged
so swiftly that many roads were rendered useless while large number of residents
in central Philippines reportedly fled their damaged houses to take refuge on
rooftops or in the branches of tall trees.
Residents wade through knee-deep
floodwaters after a Typhoon Fengshen pelted metro Manila with torrential
rain and high winds June 22, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Electricity, telephone lines and mobile phone signals
were cut off in many parts of the archipelagic state, including capital Metro
Manila.
The storm has stranded 5,095 passengers, 288 rolling
cargo, 90 trucks, 59 passenger buses, 48 small vehicles, and eight sea vessels,
the NDCC said.
Packing sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour
and gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour, the typhoon entered the Philippines
from the eastern Samar island on Friday. It shifted course Sunday to the
northwest and battered Manila at dawn, dumping heavy rain on the capital.
Moving northwest at 15 kilometers per hour, the storm
is expected to exit through the western coast of Central Luzon by Sunday
evening, the reports said.
The military has also readied its troops and vehicles
to assist in rescue and relief operations, the military authorities said Sunday.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who left for the
United States over the weekend, ordered an all-out effort to rescue the victims,
especially those on the capsized ferry.
She blamed the coast guard officials for allowing the
ferry to leave Manila late Friday despite foreseeable unfavorable weather.
Ferries are the common form of transportation in the
Philippines with stretching 7,000 islands. The archipelago is also the site of
the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when ferry MV Dona Paz hit an oil
tanker and sank, killing more than 4,000 people in December
1987.
MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Four survivors from the sunken Filipino ferry said on Sunday that the captain of the ship ordered the abandoning of the ship at noon Saturday in the sea off the island of Sibuyan in central Philippines, but many passengers did not even wear life vests when the ship capsized, according to local television GMA News. Full story
MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from typhoon "Fengshen" which rampaged through the Philippines this weekend has risen to at least 70, as the central province of Iloilo said at least 49 drowned in flood caused by a dam overflow there.
The fate of more than 800 passengers and crews on board a ferry ship which sank off the central province of Romblon early Sunday is still unknown as rescue ships are yet to arrive at the site of the sinking, according to local officials. Full story
MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Coast Guard is running against time by sending a rescue ship to the sea area to see whether there is any survivors from a ferry ship which sank Sunday morning amid storms brought about by typhoon "Fengshen".
BRP Batangas, the rescue ship of the coast guard, is expected to reach the capsized MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island, Romblon, early Sunday afternoon to rescue 702 passengers and 121 crew, said coast guard officials. Full story
MANILA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A ferry carrying over 700 passengers capsized near Romblon province in central Philippines in typhoon "Fengshen" Saturday night, killing at least 20 people, local media reported Sunday.
A local town mayor told news network ABS-CBN that some dozens of bodies have been recovered. But the report has not yet been confirmed. Full story
