45 dead as tropical storm Nalgae hits Philippines

At least 45 people were killed after tropical storm Paeng, internationally known as Nalgae, swept through the southern Philippines, triggering floods and landslides, authorities said on Saturday.

Forty of those confirmed dead were from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), local media reported, referring to a virtual press briefing by the chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Jose Faustino Jr.

Eighteen people remain missing, 15 of whom were from the Maguindanao region in the BARMM and three from the Sultan Kudarat area, said Faustino, who also currently serves as the acting secretary for the Department of National Defense (DND), The Manila Times reported.

According to the NDRRMC, the tropical storm has affected 49,767 families and a total of 184,161 people.

Evacuation centers are currently hosting 2,615 families, or 9,737 people, at 113 facilities, while 625 families, or 2,400 residents, were outside the affected region when the storm hit, the daily reported.

National Irrigation Administrator Benny Antiporda said at the same press conference that authorities had conducted so-called pre-emptive spilling operations on major dams, particularly in areas heavily impacted, to avoid a worst-case scenario.

"We already released water from Magat Dam in Isabela amid the expected impact of Paeng in the affected areas with a volume of 200 cubic meters per second," Antiporda was quoted as saying.