Amphibious vehicles usually used in counter-insurgency operations were deployed for the rescue work, military chief of staff General Gilbert Gapay said in a meeting with disaster response officials. Expand Close Rescuers carry children out from a flooded street due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Vamco (Basilio Sepe/AP) AP/PA Images / FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsapp Rescuers carry children out from a flooded street due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Vamco (Basilio Sepe/AP)The national police reported the death toll had risen to at least 42 with 20 missing. The government’s main disaster response agency, which waits for provincial reports and follows a laborious process of verifying casualties, reported a much lower death count. After slamming into north-eastern Quezon province, Vamco gained strength with sustained winds of 96mph and gusts of up to 158mph. In a televised meeting of cabinet and disaster response officials on Friday, a reporter asked where President Rodrigo Duterte was, prompting an annoyed response from his spokesman.

Source: Irish Independent November 13, 2020 04:21 UTC