MANILA, 26 December (BelTA - Xinhua) - The severe tropical storm that ravaged the southern Philippines last week has left 164 people dead and 171 more missing, the government said on Monday.
Tropical Storm Tembin started lashing parts of Mindanao on Friday, triggered massive flash flooding and mudslides in the region. Nearly 98,000 people, mostly from poor farmer families, spent their Christmas holidays in 261 government evacuation centers.
Most of the dead were recorded in Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga peninsula and Lanao del Sur, according to the disaster agency.
Roads, bridges and farms were also destroyed by Tembin.
At the weekend before Tembin swept through the southern Philippines, powerful tropical storm Kai-Tak also lashed the central Philippines and southern parts of Luzon, the Philippine main and biggest island, leaving more than 80 people dead or missing.
Tembin, known as Vinta in the Philippines, is one of the deadliest storms that hit the Philippines in recent years. Although the Philippines is located along the typhoon belt in the Pacific, Mindanao region is usually spared.
