Manila: At least 17 children and infants were
among 30 people killed after a towering flash flood hit one of
the Philippines` largest provincial centres, the government
said today.
The victims were swept away after the Pangi river in the
southern city of Davao burst its banks on the night of June
28, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council.
At one point during the night, some parts of the city of
1.15 million people were under a record 10 feet (three metres)
of water, the government agency added.
Though the floods subsided by the next day, a baby boy
remains missing, according to the latest updated tally.
Davao and nearby areas of the southern island of Mindanao
saw heavier-than-usual rains in the past month, climatologists
say.
Widespread flooding lasting several weeks also killed 12
people around the Mindanao city of Cotabato earlier in June,
while a series of storms in the country`s north killed 48
other people in May and June, the council said.
Bureau Report