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.