More than 120 people have been killed and dozens are missing after floods and landslides hit the Philippines in the wake of Tropical Storm Trami.
It is the southeast Asian archipelago’s deadliest and most destructive storm so far this year, the government’s disaster-response agency said.
President Ferdinand Marcos said the unusually large volume of rainfall – including some areas that saw up to two months’ worth in just 24 hours – overwhelmed flood controls.
“The water was just too much,” Mr Marcos told reporters.
“We’re not done yet with our rescue work,” he added.
More than 4.2 million people were in the path of the storm, including nearly half a million, who mostly fled to more than 6,400 emergency shelters in several provinces.
Rescuers search for bodies in Talisay, Batangas province. Pic: AP Photo/Aaron Favila
In an emergency cabinet meeting, Mr Marcos raised concerns over reports by government forecasters that the storm – the 11th to hit the Philippines this year – could make a U-turn next week.
The storm is set to hit Vietnam next.
Each year, about 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines, an archipelago which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea.
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and flattened entire villages.