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31 killed as tropical storm Paeng lashes southern Philippines

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Agence France-Presse 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Policemen wade through floods to rescue trapped residents in Upi, Maguindanao del Norte. First Platoon Maguindanao PMFC" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/28/20221028-maguindanao-flood.jpg"/><figcaption>Policemen wade through floods to rescue trapped residents in Upi, Maguindanao del Norte. <em>First Platoon Maguindanao PMFC</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>COTABATO — Landslides and flooding killed 31 people as heavy rain from an approaching storm lashed the southern Philippines, a disaster official said Friday.</p><p>The storm unleashed flash floods carrying uprooted trees, rocks and mud overnight in mainly rural communities around Cotabato, a city of 300,000 people on Mindanao island.</p><p>Many residents were caught by surprise by the rapidly rising floodwaters, Naguib Sinarimbo, the spokesman and civil defense chief for the regional government, told AFP.</p><p>&quot;The water started entering the houses before dawn,&quot; Sinarimbo said, confirming that the death toll in the storm-hit areas had risen to 31 from the earlier tally of 13.</p><p>Rescuers retrieved 16 bodies from Datu Odin Sinsuat, 10 from Datu Blah Sinsuat and 5 from Upi town, he told reporters.</p><p>Teams in rubber boats had to rescue some residents from rooftops, Sinarimbo added.</p><p>Local filmmaker Remar Pablo told AFP he was shooting a beauty pageant in the town of Upi when the floodwaters suddenly came in after midnight and forced audience members to flee for safety.</p><p>A row of cars sat half-submerged on the street outside, his clips showed.</p><p>&quot;We were stranded inside,&quot; said Pablo, who eventually waded into the water to get home.</p><p>Rescuers carried a baby in a plastic tub as they waded through chest-deep water, a photo posted by the provincial police showed.</p><div><strong> &#x27;IT WAS A SHOCK&#x27;</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2314168" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p><br/>Floodwaters have receded in several areas, but Cotabato City remained almost entirely waterlogged.</p><p>Sinarimbo said there could be more flooding on Friday because of heavy rain.</p><p>&quot;Our focus at this time is rescue as well as setting up community kitchens for the survivors,&quot; he said.</p><p>The army deployed its trucks to collect stranded residents in Cotabato and eight nearby towns, provincial civil defense chief Nasrullah Imam said.</p><p>&quot;It was a shock to see municipalities which had never flooded getting hit this time,&quot; Imam said, adding that some families were swept away when the waters hit their homes.</p><p>The heavy rainfall began late Thursday in the region, which is under Muslim self-rule after decades of separatist armed rebellion.</p><p>The state weather office in Manila said it was partly caused by tropical storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae), which it expects to strengthen at landfall.</p><p>Paeng was now heading toward the northern or central sections of the Philippines, with the state weather service saying it was not ruling out a landfall on Samar island later Friday, much earlier than earlier forecast.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/28/22/paeng-may-hit-land-twice-signal-3-possible-in-some-areas-pagasa">Paeng may make landfall twice; signal no. 3 possible in some areas: PAGASA</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/28/22/catanduanes-cagayan-brace-for-paengs-impact">Catanduanes, Cagayan brace for impact of tropical storm Paeng</a></li></ul><p>Nearly 5,000 people were evacuated from flood- and landslide-prone communities in these areas, the civil defense office said.</p><p>The coast guard also suspended ferry services in much of the archipelago nation where tens of thousands of people board boats each day.</p><p>An average of 20 typhoons and storms strike the Philippines each year, killing people and livestock and destroying farms, houses, roads and bridges, although the south is rarely hit.</p><p>Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/28/22/canceled-flights-on-oct-28-due-to-bad-weather">LIST: Canceled flights on Oct. 28 due to bad weather</a></li></ul><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong> RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2313904" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Landslides and flooding killed 13 people as heavy rain from tropical storm Paeng lashed the southern Philippines on Friday, a disaster official said.