Nalgae unleashes deadly flooding, landslides in Philippines
Nalgae triggered flash flooding and landslides in parts of the Philippines on Oct. 28, killing several dozen people.
Tropical Storm Nalgae, churning over the northern Philippines, unleashed deadly flooding and landslides in the Philippines from Thursday night through Saturday, and AccuWeather meteorologists say more heavy rain is ahead for the country and other parts of Southeast Asia as the storm continues to move west.
The tropical storm, officially named Nalgae by the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tropical authority for the basin, formed on Thursday, and was located over the South China Sea as of Sunday night, local time. This storm is known as Paeng in the Philippines.
AccuWeather forecasters say the storm will maintain its tropical storm status as it treks west-northwest over the next few days, continuing to impact the Philippines this weekend, and eventually parts of southeastern China next week, although moisture will surge northward to Taiwan early this week.
From Thursday night into Friday, rainfall in association with Nalgae unleashed flash flooding and triggered landslides in the southern Philippines. At least 48 people were killed with 22 others missing as of Sunday, according to Reuters. The worst of the flooding was in towns around Cotabato, a city on Mindanao island.
Of the dead, 27 were from the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, 10 from Datu Blah Sinsuat, and five from Upi. Six more deaths attributed to Tropical Storm Nalgae were recorded across various locations.
While located far from the center of Nalgae, a robust flow of moisture across the Southern part of the archipelago and into the tropical storm led to the torrential rainfall.
The tropical cyclone has delivered more heavy rain and strong winds farther north to the same area that experienced severe flooding earlier in the month. Severe Tropical Storm Nesat brought 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) of rain to northern Luzon in just 24 hours over the weekend of Oct. 15, leading to dramatic water rescues and the evacuation of hundreds of people.
Nearly 5,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas ahead of Nalgae, civil defense officials told AFP.
The heaviest of the rain impacted eastern Visayas Friday night and the Bicol region on Saturday. After that, it is expected to make a close approach to the northeastern part of Luzon on Sunday, as a strong tropical storm.
"The amount of rain and wind largely depends on the exact track and the storm's proximity to land," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.
The heavy rain along and near the path of the tropical threat led to fresh flash flooding, river flooding and mudslides. Storm surge flooding along coastlines were also a concern when the center of the cyclone passed by.
The tropical storm can be seen near the Philippines on Saturday afternoon, local time. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
Strong winds could lead to structural damage and blow around loose objects.
The cyclone is expected to turn north as it pushes across the South China Sea and then curve north-northwestward during the first half of the week. This could lead to potential impacts in parts of southern China by mid-to-late week.
Taiwan was also severely impacted by Nesat over the weekend of Oct. 15. Over 70 inches of rain (1,778 mm) fell over 72 hours in the Shilin District of Tapei City, with many other higher-elevation parts of the island measuring 28-40 inches (700 to 1,000 mm) of rain.
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