Tropical storm Bualoi kills at least 4, displaces 400,000 in Philippines

A tropical storm has killed at least four people and displaced hundreds of thousands as it battered the Philippines, triggering floods and mudslides, just days after a deadly super typhoon caused chaos in the country.

Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi, the 15th tropical cyclone in the Philippines this year, continues to lash the central islands of the Philippines and was moving northwest with gusts of up to 135 kilometres per hour (84 miles per hour) as of 05:30 GMT on Friday, the weather bureau Pagasa said. It warned of the risks of heavy rainfall in some areas.

About 400,000 people have been evacuated across several islands, Bernardo Alejandro, an official with the civil defence, said during a Friday news briefing. Of that number, about 87,000 were from the eastern Bicol region, a disaster agency official said.

More than 73,000 people were evacuated and are staying in government shelters in the provinces of Eastern Samar and Northern Samar, provincial officials said.

State television outlet PTV reported that as of 03:00 GMT, four people were confirmed to have been killed in the Bicol region.

Bicol regional civil defence director Claudio Yucot told the station that three people were killed on the island of Masbate, including one who was pinned down by a falling tree. Another was struck by lighting in Camarines Norte Province.

At least 20,000 people have been displaced in the island province, Governor Richard Kho said in a news briefing posted on Facebook.

On the central island of Panay, heavy rains triggered a mudslide along a national highway, according to the provincial disaster agency.

Photos posted on social media showed vehicles partially covered in mud as bulldozers try to clear the path for motorists and people being evacuated in the province of Iloilo as floodwaters continue to rise.

Some areas of the capital Manila were also flooded, forcing the government to suspend classes.

Climate change and corruption

Philippine forecasters said Bualoi, which is moving towards the South China Sea, could restrengthen to a typhoon as it makes a course towards Vietnam.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, putting millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty.

Scientists have warned that storms in the Philippines are becoming more powerful as climate change warms the world.

Thousands remain displaced in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which passed over the country’s far northern end and killed at least nine people earlier this week.

Bualoi hit at a sensitive time, with ongoing investigations implicating politicians, including allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, in a corruption scandal involving flood control and related infrastructure projects.

Allegations of multibillion-dollar kickbacks that have financed lavish lifestyles of those involved have prompted public outrage and triggered a huge protest that turned deadly  on Sunday.