Zürcher Nachrichten - Five rescuers killed in Philippine typhoon

EUR -
AED 3.819087
AFN 72.682799
ALL 98.089398
AMD 408.896788
ANG 1.86594
AOA 954.524768
ARS 1062.897161
AUD 1.665979
AWG 1.871617
AZN 1.777387
BAM 1.948636
BBD 2.090515
BDT 123.725154
BGN 1.955014
BHD 0.392133
BIF 3061.046786
BMD 1.039787
BND 1.406131
BOB 7.154697
BRL 6.361111
BSD 1.035394
BTN 88.022406
BWP 14.310391
BYN 3.388344
BYR 20379.834362
BZD 2.081249
CAD 1.497783
CDF 2984.18977
CHF 0.932398
CLF 0.03737
CLP 1031.154673
CNY 7.589614
CNH 7.599344
COP 4564.666982
CRC 522.379595
CUC 1.039787
CUP 27.554368
CVE 109.862174
CZK 25.147272
DJF 184.372199
DKK 7.457771
DOP 63.048218
DZD 140.184369
EGP 53.110785
ERN 15.596812
ETB 129.065422
FJD 2.410903
FKP 0.823493
GBP 0.829745
GEL 2.92165
GGP 0.823493
GHS 15.220047
GIP 0.823493
GMD 74.864534
GNF 8945.1154
GTQ 7.977672
GYD 216.613671
HKD 8.078857
HNL 26.282379
HRK 7.458298
HTG 135.452043
HUF 414.927541
IDR 16823.397298
ILS 3.791088
IMP 0.823493
INR 88.514664
IQD 1356.313833
IRR 43762.057998
ISK 145.144124
JEP 0.823493
JMD 161.994466
JOD 0.73731
JPY 163.16967
KES 134.392694
KGS 90.461796
KHR 4160.704156
KMF 484.670921
KPW 935.808139
KRW 1511.1543
KWD 0.320421
KYD 0.862828
KZT 543.751028
LAK 22661.689661
LBP 92716.151012
LKR 303.98248
LRD 187.91916
LSL 19.061624
LTL 3.070222
LVL 0.628957
LYD 5.087298
MAD 10.420392
MDL 19.07089
MGA 4885.041302
MKD 61.568897
MMK 3377.189135
MNT 3533.197679
MOP 8.288728
MRU 41.176624
MUR 48.713702
MVR 15.980014
MWK 1794.887232
MXN 20.936114
MYR 4.668836
MZN 66.446297
NAD 19.061624
NGN 1607.979191
NIO 38.099935
NOK 11.79236
NPR 140.836249
NZD 1.841815
OMR 0.400316
PAB 1.035394
PEN 3.855426
PGK 4.198565
PHP 60.928948
PKR 288.191432
PLN 4.273306
PYG 8073.320348
QAR 3.774424
RON 4.977253
RSD 117.035318
RUB 104.212733
RWF 1443.294071
SAR 3.906118
SBD 8.717115
SCR 14.499106
SDG 625.434214
SEK 11.481583
SGD 1.411215
SHP 0.823493
SLE 23.710672
SLL 21803.826448
SOS 591.724664
SRD 36.528736
STD 21521.501253
SVC 9.059694
SYP 2612.497459
SZL 19.056942
THB 35.631446
TJS 11.32676
TMT 3.649654
TND 3.299171
TOP 2.435285
TRY 36.618975
TTD 7.027166
TWD 34.012527
TZS 2503.289383
UAH 43.422667
UGX 3798.037414
USD 1.039787
UYU 46.180229
UZS 13348.925833
VES 53.527677
VND 26462.591046
VUV 123.445651
WST 2.872712
XAF 653.554362
XAG 0.035083
XAU 0.000397
XCD 2.810077
XDR 0.789797
XOF 653.554362
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.336802
ZAR 19.162504
ZMK 9359.342251
ZMW 28.653662
ZWL 334.81114
  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

Five rescuers killed in Philippine typhoon
Five rescuers killed in Philippine typhoon / Photo: Ted ALJIBE - AFP

Five rescuers killed in Philippine typhoon

Five rescuers were killed in the Philippines after they were sent to a flooded community during a powerful typhoon, authorities said Monday, the first confirmed casualties of the strongest storm to hit the country this year.

Text size:

The typhoon dumped heavy rain and unleashed fierce winds as it swept across the main island of Luzon on Sunday and Monday, toppling trees and flooding low-lying communities.

So far, there have been no reports of widespread severe damage.

The five rescuers were in San Miguel municipality in Bulacan province, near the capital Manila, when they died.

"They were deployed by the provincial government to a flooded area," said Lieutenant-Colonel Romualdo Andres, chief of police in San Miguel.

Andres said the rescuers were wading through floodwaters when a wall beside them collapsed, sending them into the fast current.

The Philippines is regularly ravaged by storms, with scientists warning they are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change.

Super Typhoon Noru smashed into the archipelago nation on Sunday after an unprecedented "explosive intensification" in wind speeds, the state weather forecaster said earlier.

It made landfall about 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of the densely populated capital Manila, before weakening to a typhoon as it crossed a mountain range, coconut plantations and rice fields.

Nearly 75,000 people were evacuated from their homes before the storm hit, as the meteorology agency warned heavy rain could cause "serious flooding" in vulnerable areas, trigger landslides and destroy crops.

But on Monday morning there was no sign of the widespread devastation many had feared.

"We were ready for all of this," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a briefing with disaster agencies.

"You might think that we overdid it. There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to disasters."

Burdeos municipality on the Polillo islands, part of Quezon province, bore the brunt of Noru as it made landfall.

Fierce winds ripped off some roofs and brought down large trees while heavy rain flooded riverside houses, said Ervin Calleja, a 49-year-old teacher.

"It was really worrisome," Calleja told AFP by mobile phone.

"The wind was whistling and it had heavy rains. That's the more dangerous part."

Despite taking the full force of the typhoon, authorities said it passed over quickly and there were so far no reports of major damage to houses. But some crops were wiped out.

"Here at the town centre all banana trees were flattened, 100 percent," said Liezel Calusin, a member of the civil defence team in Polillo municipality.

"We still have no electricity, but the phones are working."

In Banaba village near Manila, Terrence Reyes fled his riverside home with his family and neighbours during the storm as floodwaters rose.

They returned home Monday to find their belongings caked in mud.

"We just have to throw them away and start over again," Reyes, 25, said.

"It happens each time there is a storm here."

The Philippines -- ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change -- is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.

Ch.Siegenthaler--NZN