Back-to-Back storms kill at least 61 in Philippines

At least 61 people were killed in back-to-back storms in the Philippines, which was bracing for another cyclone, a government agency said Monday. The Office of Civil Defence said four people were killed in the latest storm to have pummelled the country since Thursday. Two of the fatalities from Typhoon Muifa drowned in the Manila Bay area while two were buried in landslides in the central island province of Bohol. Muifa with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 210 kph did not make landfall but caused heavy rains. The weather bureau said Muifa was located on Monday morning off the northernmost island of Batanes and was moving at 9 kph in the general direction of Okinawa, Japan. A ferry sank Sunday in the central Philippines after it was battered by huge waves, but all of its more than 100 passengers and crew were rescued, the Office of Civil Defence said. The office said the death toll in Tropical Storm Nock-Ten, which hit the Philippines from Tuesday to Thursday, rose to 57 as more bodies of missing fishermen were recovered. Twenty-four people remained missing and were feared dead in landslides, floods and other accidents triggered by Nock-Ten, the office said. The weather bureau urged the public to prepare for more rains as a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 45 kph was monitored moving towards the Philippines.