Rescuers in the Philippines plunged through chest-deep floodwaters Wednesday to reach citizens stranded by Tropical Storm Trami, which has forced hundreds to evacuate as it approaches the country’s eastern coast.
Torrential rains caused by the storm have turned streets into rivers, inundated entire communities, and buried some vehicles up to their door handles in volcanic material loosened by the downpour.
Police reported at least 32,000 people had evacuated their homes in the northern Philippines as the storm approached the Southeast Asian country’s main island of Luzon.
“Unexpectedly high” flooding in the Bicol province, approximately 400 kilometers (249 miles) southeast of the capital Manila, was hindering rescue attempts, according to police.
“We sent police rescue teams but they struggled to enter some areas because the flooding was high and the current was so strong,” regional police spokeswoman Luisa Calubaquib told AFP.
Trami’s centre was 310 kilometres east of Aurora province with maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometres per hour as of 8:00 am (0000 GMT), the national weather agency said.
Photos verified by AFP showed streets submerged by muddy floodwaters in Camarines Sur province’s Bato municipality, with only the roofs of houses and convenience stores visible.
“It’s getting dangerous. We’re waiting for rescuers,” resident Karen Tabagan told AFP.
In Naga city, about 40 kilometres from Bato, half of the 600 villages were fully submerged by flooding.
At an emergency meeting of government agencies Wednesday morning, President Ferdinand Marcos said that “the worst is yet to come”.
“I’m feeling a little helpless here because… all we can do is sit tight, wait, hope and pray that there is not too much damage, that there are no casualties.”
Families driven from their homes in Bicol were staying at around 2,500 evacuation centres scattered across the region.
“There was also a lahar flow in Albay due to the rains,” Calubaquib, the Bicol police spokeswoman said, referring to the volcanic sediment flowing from the Philippines’ famous Mayon volcano.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.