New tropical threat looms for Philippines in the wake of Nalgae's disastrous flooding
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Torrential downpours from Tropical Storm Nalgae caused rain-induced landslides across southern portions of the Philippines this past weekend. The storm left at least 132 people dead across the country and more injured, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Nalgae continued to creep northward, away from the Philippines and into the South China Sea, early Tuesday. In the storm's wake, streets looked like rivers across the archipelago, and many rescue attempts were ongoing.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew over some flood-ravaged areas on Tuesday to survey the damage, Reuters reported.
During the inspection of the widespread damage, Marcos Jr. blamed the severity of the deadly landslides on deforestation, the AP reported.
"I noticed that in all places where the landslides came down, the mountains were bald. That's the problem," Marcos Jr. told provincial governors. "We have to include tree-planting in our flood control," he said. "We have been hearing about this over and over again, but we still cut the trees, so that's what happens, these landslides."
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In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers continue their search for missing bodies at Barangay Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province, southern Philippines on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP) |
"[The] Manila metro area picked up between 4 and 8 inches (100 and 200 mm) of rain from Friday through Sunday with some areas even picking up 11 inches (280 mm) in northern portions of the Philippines," AccuWeather Lead International Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
Officials said more than 4,100 homes were damaged by Nalgae and over 975,000 people were forced to shelter in evacuation centers. Nearly 2 million people were affected by the storm, the AP reported.
Nalgae, also known as Paeng in the Philippines, was a tropical storm as it moved over the country this past weekend. By early Tuesday local time, it had gained enough strength to become a typhoon, but had lost this designation as of Tuesday evening, local time.
As Nalgae moved back over the open waters of the South China Sea, it strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic or East Pacific basins and was on a course toward China.
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"The cyclone is expected to turn north as it pushes across the South China Sea and then curve north-northwestward during the first half of the week. This could lead to potential impacts in parts of southern China by mid- to late week," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger explained.
Hong Kong may be one of the most densely-populated areas to receive rain from Nalgae as the storm skirts southern China this week.
Nalgae will continue to track west-northwest, but as floodwaters linger throughout the Philippines, another storm just east of the country could bring even more rain to the islands, warn AccuWeather meteorologists.
The former Tropical Storm Banyan, known as Queenie in the Philippines, will continue to lose wind intensity as it tracks west-northwest over the next couple of days.
"However, the system can still bring rain, some heavy, to portions of Visayas and Mindanao, in southern areas of the Philippines, from Wednesday into Friday, local time," Nicholls explained.
Rainfall will not be nearly as heavy as it was with Nalgae, but given the already saturated ground, there is still the risk of flooding, experts say.
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