Rescue teams in the Philippines are working urgently to reach people stranded by severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Trami, which has devastated communities across the main island of Luzon, resulting in at least 97 confirmed fatalities. The storm, which unleashed widespread floods and landslides, forced nearly half a million residents to flee their homes and left many areas submerged and unreachable.
In the severely impacted Bicol region, hundreds of residents remained trapped on rooftops and upper floors, awaiting assistance. “The floods have yet to subside. Calls for help are still pouring in,” Bicol’s regional police director Andre Dizon told AFP on Saturday. “We need to rescue them as soon as possible because starvation is becoming a concern. We’re hearing reports of children falling ill due to lack of food and water.”
The situation is particularly dire in Camarines Sur, where food and clean drinking water are running dangerously low as many areas remain under water. “Our main problem is that many areas are still flooded,” Dizon added, emphasizing the ongoing struggles to reach those in need.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged the scale of the challenge, attributing the severe flooding to climate change. “We have flood control systems, but the water levels are unmanageable,” he said during a government briefing. “This is a new reality, and we need to adapt with new solutions.”
Trami’s death toll climbed as rescue teams retrieved more bodies from flood-affected areas and landslide sites, primarily in the Bicol region and Batangas province, south of Manila. Authorities report that at least 36 people drowned in Bicol, while Batangas suffered even greater losses, with 54 confirmed fatalities and at least 21 people still unaccounted for, according to provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao. In nearby Cavite province, two additional deaths were reported, one from electrocution and another from drowning.
In Batangas, rescuers continue to search for the missing using backhoes and shovels to dig through mud layers as thick as 10 feet. Cadaver-sniffing dogs have been deployed to assist, while AFP reporters on-site documented roads blocked by fallen trees, vehicles partially buried in mud, and homes damaged by flash floods.
“We are still hoping for the best,” Malinao stated, pledging that rescue efforts will continue until all missing persons are accounted for.
The national disaster agency reported that roughly 495,000 people have been displaced by Trami’s destruction, with hundreds of villages across the northern Philippines inundated. About 20 significant storms and typhoons strike the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, often inflicting severe damage on homes, infrastructure, and communities.
A recent study highlights a troubling trend in the Asia-Pacific region, where storms are forming closer to coastlines, intensifying faster, and lingering longer over land, which experts attribute to climate change. As Trami’s impact reveals, adapting to this new storm reality is essential for the nation’s safety and resilience.
