Landslides kill 15 in Philippines as Typhoon Bavi approaches East Asia
Authorities reported deadly landslides in the southern Philippines while Bavi threatened Taiwan, Japan and China with heavy rain.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
2 min read
Landslides in the southern Philippines have killed at least 15 people as Typhoon Bavi moved across the western Pacific toward East Asia. Philippine authorities warned that the storm, known locally as Inday, could still bring heavy rain and flooding even without making landfall in the country.
The Philippine News Agency reported that 10 people died early Friday when a landslide struck Malapatan, a town in Sarangani province on Mindanao island. Local media reported at least five more deaths in a separate landslide in Lanao del Sur, also in the southern Philippines.
Malapatan Mayor Salway Sumbo Jr. said in a statement that some of those killed in Sarangani were relatives. He said parts of the affected village were being evacuated while heavy rain continued across the area.
Bavi entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday, according to the Philippine weather agency PAGASA. The agency said the typhoon weakened as it moved northwest over the Philippine Sea near northern Luzon.
PAGASA said Bavi was not expected to hit the Philippines directly. The agency warned, however, that the storm’s tail end could produce heavy rainfall and broad flooding in several areas, including Manila.
The storm had earlier struck Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, United States territories in the Pacific, on Monday. News agencies reported infrastructure damage there but no casualties.
Bavi has since moved toward other parts of the region, where officials have begun evacuations and storm preparations. The typhoon was expected to bring rain to northern and eastern Taiwan and parts of Japan on Saturday before reaching China.
In Taiwan, hundreds of people had been moved from homes and schools ahead of the storm, and some offices had been closed, according to news agencies. Authorities were preparing for heavy rain as Bavi approached from the Pacific.
Al Jazeera correspondent Barnaby Lo reported that heavy rain reached Japan’s coastal Ishikawa prefecture on Friday morning as residents prepared for stronger storm conditions.
Southern China was already dealing with the aftermath of Typhoon Maysak, which struck earlier in the week. News agencies reported that flooding from Maysak killed 39 people after a breached dam inundated the city of Nanning.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.