Tropical Storm Kills 46 in Philippines, and Could Return Next Week

A man walks along the debris from the floods brought about by Tropical Storm Trami in Nabua, Camarines Sur on October 25, 2024. (Photo by ZALRIAN SAYAT / AFP)
A man walks along the debris from the floods brought about by Tropical Storm Trami in Nabua, Camarines Sur on October 25, 2024. (Photo by ZALRIAN SAYAT / AFP)
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Tropical Storm Kills 46 in Philippines, and Could Return Next Week

A man walks along the debris from the floods brought about by Tropical Storm Trami in Nabua, Camarines Sur on October 25, 2024. (Photo by ZALRIAN SAYAT / AFP)
A man walks along the debris from the floods brought about by Tropical Storm Trami in Nabua, Camarines Sur on October 25, 2024. (Photo by ZALRIAN SAYAT / AFP)

The death toll in the Philippines from Tropical Storm Trami rose to 46 on Friday with another 20 people missing as officials warned the weather pattern could loop back and lash the country with heavy rain and winds again next week.
Nearly 240,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centers, with 7,510 passengers were stuck in ports and 36 flights cancelled on Friday, the government said, as the president directed assistance to be sent to the worst-affected areas, Reuters reported.
The civil defense agency said the reported deaths and injuries were because of landslides, floods, and other storm-related incidents, mostly in the central Bicol region which was inundated by torrential rains.
"I make this pledge to our people: Help is on the way. It will come by land, air, and, even by sea," President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on social media platform X.
The center of slow-moving Tropical Storm Trami, locally known as Kristine, hit Luzon island on Thursday with winds of nearly 100 kilometers per hour, and some local officials reported two months worth of rain falling in a day.
The storm was moving over the South China Sea on Friday, heading towards Vietnam, but the weather agency warned that Trami could loop back and linger just off the coast next week because of two nearby weather patterns.
Marcos held a situational briefing before conducting an aerial inspection of flooded communities. Government work and school classes on Luzon, which includes the capital Manila, were suspended for a third day.
In Talisay town in Batangas province, two hours drive south of the capital, residents were starting to clean up. Some homes and cars are buried in waist-high soil and hardened mud, and debris is strewn over the streets.
"The rain was intense so no one was able to prepare and many died," Romeo Albellar, 55, a caretaker of fish breeding pens, told Reuters.
"My house was completely destroyed and no items were saved. We are back to zero."
In Batangas province, at least nine people died because of landslides triggered by heavy rains, police and the local government said.
In the central Bicol region, police director Andre Dizon told reporters said the causes of death of 27 people during the storm was being verified.
The Philippines typically records an average of 20 tropical storms annually, often resulting in heavy rains, strong winds, and deadly landslides.



Biden Casts Early Ballot for Harris as Election Day Nears

 President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
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Biden Casts Early Ballot for Harris as Election Day Nears

 President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)

President Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election.

It's a bittersweet moment for Biden, who decided to end his reelection campaign in July because of growing concerns about his health and Democrats' worries about his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump.  

Biden voted on Monday at the state of Delaware Department of Elections, not far from his home outside Wilmington, Delaware at an early voting site, where voters were lined up down the street to cast ballots.

Biden chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair who ahead of him. The president waited in line for about 40 minutes before he cast his ballot.

He handed his identification to the election worker, who had him sign a form and announced: “Joseph Biden now voting.”

As the president cast his ballot behind a black drape, some first-time voters were announced and the room erupted in cheers for them.

For all but a few years since 1970, Biden has either held office or been running for one during election season.

But this year, his hopes lie with a newer generation of Democrats, including three on the Delaware ballot looking to make history.

Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed after dropping out, is vying to become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.