MANILA — The combined death toll from Tropical Storm Nock-ten and Typhoon Muifa in the Philippines has risen to 70, with threats of yet another storm in the rain-battered country, the government said Tuesday.
The toll, previously at 54, rose as two children were reported killed by a landslide at a quarry on the central island of Bohol on Sunday and another 14 victims were logged from Nock-ten, which hit last month.
A total of 178 passengers and crew were rescued from a listing ship off the central port of Iloilo on Sunday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
Muifa, named after a Chinese flower, stayed offshore on the Philippine Sea east of the main island of Luzon, but caused heavy rains and rough coastal waters. On Thursday it tipped over a boat on Manila Bay, causing two fishpond workers on board to drown.
Nock-ten, which struck Luzon a few days earlier, left 66 people dead and 17 others missing, according to the council's updated toll.
Most Manila schools declared a holiday Tuesday as another weather disturbance loomed over Luzon's west coast with the potential to develop into a storm, prompting the state weather service to forecast heavy rain and possible flooding.
Meanwhile the nation is preparing for the possible arrival of a new tropical storm, currently stationed off the west coast of Luzon. The Philippine Civil protection does not exclude the possibility of intense weather phenomena that determine heavy rains and possible flooding.
The authorities have ordered the closure of schools and public buildings, along with government buildings. Emergency personnel are engaged in evacuation operations in Manila, particularly in areas along rivers and canals. The evacuation is hampered by heavy traffic on the main highways leaving the capital.
Each year, the Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons and tropical storms, many of which have a fatal outcome. Nock-ten, which takes its name from a flower typical of Laos, is the 10th of 2011, followed by Muifa.
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