Tropical Storm Trami, one of the most destructive storms of the year, has left a profound toll on the Philippines.
The storm, which lashed the archipelago before departing on Friday, has claimed at least 81 lives, with 34 individuals still missing, according to the Philippines’ disaster-response agency. The storm’s impact has isolated numerous communities, leaving many survivors in urgent need of rescue as local authorities continue grappling with the aftermath of relentless rains, floods, and landslides.
On Saturday, in the hard-hit town of Talisay in Batangas province, rescue efforts persisted, involving teams of police, firefighters, and volunteers, along with backhoes and sniffer dogs, to retrieve missing villagers buried beneath layers of mud and debris. One of the most poignant scenes unfolded when a father, awaiting news on his 14-year-old daughter, witnessed the recovery of remains believed to be hers, but official identification was still pending. A line of coffins awaited victims in a nearby gymnasium, marking the somber toll the storm has taken on this small community.
The sheer volume of rain from Trami overwhelmed existing flood controls across affected regions. President Ferdinand Marcos, who inspected damaged sites on Saturday, noted that some areas had seen rainfall totals typically spread across one to two months compressed into a single day. The extent of the flooding blocked access to many areas, slowing response efforts. Marcos committed to developing a large-scale flood control infrastructure to brace the country against similar catastrophes that are expected to grow in frequency and severity due to climate change.
Trami’s path left an estimated 4.2 million people affected, with nearly half a million fleeing to over 6,400 emergency shelters across several provinces. The government responded by closing schools and government offices on Friday to prioritize the safety of its citizens. The storm was also severe enough to halt inter-island ferry services, stranding thousands of passengers and cutting off transit to critical areas.
Officials remain vigilant, especially given the possibility of Trami’s return due to high-pressure winds in the South China Sea that could redirect it back to the Philippines. If Trami does not reverse course, it is projected to make landfall in Vietnam over the weekend, where preparations are underway.
The Philippines, situated between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, faces an annual average of 20 storms, frequently experiencing widespread destruction. The memory of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones on record, still looms large, with over 7,300 people either dead or missing and entire communities erased from the landscape. In the wake of Trami, Filipinos once again face a devastating reminder of their country’s vulnerability to extreme weather, underscoring the urgency for enhanced preparedness in an era of escalating climate threats.
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