Typhoon Parma in Philippines: Flood and Heavy Rain Left 540 Dead

by Scott Wu | October 9, 2009 at 03:01 pm

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Typhoon Parma's unprecedented rain fall caused flooding in the Northern Philippines and pushed the death toll over 540. A series of landslides already claimed more than 160 lives in mountainous regions of Luzon.

Tens of thousands of people had been evacuated and thousands are trapped by flood. Red Cross had helped hundreds of families evacuate. The flooding worsened after 5 dams began releasing excess water on Thursday, which turned towns and farmlands into vast lakes.

emergency services, which are already struggling to handle the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana which hit late last month, have now been stretched even further by the fresh flooding.

Typhoon Parma first hit the Philippines last Saturday and has since weakened into a tropical depression but continues to linger around the region.