Agencies, Manila :Officials say flash floods and landslides triggered by Tropical Storm Jangmi left at least 29 people dead and 10 missing in the Philippines, including in areas still recovering from last year’s Typhoon Haiyan.Jangmi, packing winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour and gusts of 80 kph (50 mph), dumped heavy rains Monday on southern Mindanao Island, where floods destroyed bridges and highways, sending thousands of residents to evacuation centers. The storm then pushed its way through eastern and central islands, where most of the deaths occurred Tuesday.Mayor Stephanie Uy-Tan says 12 people died when a landslide buried two vans and six houses near a mountainside highway in eastern Catbalogan City. She says voices could still be heard from one of the vans and rescue efforts are ongoing.AFP report adds: Jangmi, which was forecast to bring up to 15 millimetres (0.6 inches) of rain per hour, barrelled through fishing and tourist areas in the island provinces of Bohol and Cebu on Tuesday, with about 1,700 people being evacuated ahead of its arrival.An eight-year-old girl drowned after raging floodwaters washed away her family’s shanty home in the coastal town of Ronda in Cebu province, regional civil defence officer Allen Cabaron told AFP, adding that six of the girl’s housemates are missing.Two teenage boys died from electrocution while wading through floodwaters in Loon in Bohol province, he said.Rivers burst their banks, covering roads and highways in knee-deep floods that washed out bridges and stalled vehicles, Cabaron said, adding that floods in some areas were “neck-deep”.The deluge was expected to subside in Cebu and Bohol later Tuesday, but flooding was possible on Negros island further west, which is in the storm’s path, he said.On Monday, at least three people were killed after Jangmi, known locally as Seniang, slammed into the country’s mountainous southeastern region, triggering floods and landslides.
