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Philippines Sharply Revises Storm Death Toll Down to 45

Rescuers evacuate residents from their homes near a swollen river due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Kompasu in Cagayan province north of Manila. (Gonzaga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office via AFP)
Rescuers evacuate residents from their homes near a swollen river due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Kompasu in Cagayan province north of Manila. (Gonzaga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office via AFP)
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Philippines Sharply Revises Storm Death Toll Down to 45

Rescuers evacuate residents from their homes near a swollen river due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Kompasu in Cagayan province north of Manila. (Gonzaga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office via AFP)
Rescuers evacuate residents from their homes near a swollen river due to heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Kompasu in Cagayan province north of Manila. (Gonzaga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office via AFP)

The Philippines sharply revised the death toll from a tropical storm ravaging the country downward on Saturday, saying only 45 people had been killed -- correcting the earlier reported toll of 72.

Civil defense officials acknowledged rescue teams sent to the country's flood-swamped south on Friday had erred in their reporting, leading to some deaths being tallied twice, AFP said.

"When we consolidated the reports at 6:00 am today we realized there were only 40 dead, 31 injured and 15 missing," Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesman and civil defense chief for the southern region told AFP.

National civil defense chief Rafaelito Alejandro also confirmed the lower figure at a news conference in Manila, saying 40 bodies were recovered from the disaster in the southern region of Mindanao.

Tropical Storm Nalgae killed five other people elsewhere in the country, Alejandro added.

Earlier Saturday the civil defense office reported 72 dead, 14 missing and 33 injured.

Alejandro told reporters the death toll was reduced after local officials conducted a "validation" of the reports.

Nalgae was ripping across the main Philippine island of Luzon on Saturday with winds of 95 kilometers (59 miles) an hour after a pre-dawn landfall.

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Kremlin Says Various Conditions Must Be Met Before Black Sea Security Deal Can Be Activated 

Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA) 
Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA) 
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Kremlin Says Various Conditions Must Be Met Before Black Sea Security Deal Can Be Activated 

Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA) 
Cars drive in front of Moscow's Kremlin along Tverskaya street in Moscow, Russia, 21 March 2025. (EPA) 

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a number of conditions must be met before a Black Sea maritime security deal negotiated with the United States can be activated, pointing to an earlier agreement which it said saw Moscow's needs ignored.

The United States reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to cease fighting in the Black Sea and pause attacks against energy targets, with Washington agreeing to push to lift some sanctions against Moscow.

While Russian exports of food and fertilizer are not subject to Western sanctions, Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have amounted to a barrier to shipments.

Russia wants the reconnection of its state agricultural bank Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payments system. That and other steps could require agreement from European countries.

"As for the Black Sea grain initiative, it can be activated after a number of conditions are implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"These are the same conditions that were included in the (original) Black Sea Initiative...all the conditions of which were fulfilled except for those concerning the Russian side. So, of course, this time round justice must prevail and we will continue our work with the Americans."

Moscow in 2023 withdrew from the original deal, brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye in 2022, complaining that obstacles to its own food and fertilizer exports had not been eased as promised under the terms of that agreement.