‘Seniang’ death toll soars to 43

The death toll from Typhoon "Seniang" (international code name Bebinca) rose to 43 yesterday as more victims of landslides and floods were reported, disaster officials said.

Rising floodwaters forced over 630,000 people in Metro Manila and 14 provinces to flee their homes, the Office of Civil Defense said.

Most of the dead were either buried in landslides or drowned.

At least 22 people were killed by landslides – 16 of them in Antipolo City alone. Fourteen people drowned, including five mountaineers who tried to cross a raging river in Siniloan, Laguna.

The others died after being hit by falling objects, including a 21-year-old man who was pinned to death by a concrete wall that collapsed in Valenzuela City.

Also among the dead were four young women in Calamba, Laguna, who were trapped inside their house by a toppled concrete wall and eventually engulfed by rising floodwaters.

About 260 mountaineers in Siniloan were rescued after surviving a harrowing experience, rescue officials said. Two other moutaineers remain missing.

Seniang arrived a week after Typhoon "Reming" (international code name Xangsane) swept through the length of Luzon and left 40 people dead, 249 injured, 66 missing and over 118, 000 homeless.

Seniang slammed into the Bicol Region — the same area were Reming first hit — and cut through Metro Manila and northern Luzon at dawn Friday.

It toppled power lines, cut electricity services and communication links, uprooted trees, ripped off entire roofs, washed away bridges, swamping roads. Its fury forced schools, government offices and businesses to close for the day.

Fifteen of 21 towns in Pampanga – which was still reeling from Reming’s devastation – remained flooded yesterday. Most areas in the province remained without electricity.

Disaster officials estimate damage to crops, property and infrastructure to reach P1.3 billion.

By midday yesterday, Seniang was spotted about 450 kilometers northwest of Manila. It weakened slightly, with gusts of up to 140 kilometers per hour, as it moved northwest at 11 kph across the South China Sea. – AP, Pete Laude, Celso Amo, Ric Sapnu, Marvin Sy, Rene Alviar, Ella Oducayen