ZAMBOANGA, Philippines — Thousands of villagers in the southern Philippines spent their Christmas morning in emergency shelters Monday as the region dealt with the aftermath of one of the deadliest storms to hit the country this year. Tropical Storm Vinta (international name Tembin) unleashed landslides and flash floods that left more than 120 people dead and 160 missing, mostly in the hard-hit provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur and on the Zamboanga Peninsula. It strengthened into a typhoon before blowing out of the country Sunday and into the South China Sea. “We’re really sad that we have this news especially because our countrymen were looking to celebrate Christmas,” Marina Marasigan of the government’s disaster-response agency told a televised news conference. A large number of dead and missing was also reported in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces, where floodwaters from a mountain washed away several riverside houses.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 25, 2017 03:11 UTC