Typhoon Mangkhut toll reaches 74 in Philippines

The death toll in the Philippines due to super typhoon Mangkhut increased to 74 on Tuesday as rescue teams continued to search for dozens of people buried in an abandoned mine due to landslides.

According to the latest figures provided by the National Police, 55 people were missing and 74 injured due to the strongest typhoon of the season, which lashed parts of Luzon island on the northernmost tip of the Philippines on Saturday, reports Efe news.

The highest number of casualties was reported from the mining town of Itogon in Benguet province, where massive floods and landslides buried a gold mine and four barracks where some miners and their families had been living illegally.

President Rodrigo Duterte visited the families of the victims in Itogon on Monday and handed over a cheque for 45,000 pesos ($832) to each of them, apart from providing material for basic necessities and aid for the last rites of the victims.

Three days after the passage of the devastating Mangkhut, more than 20,000 people remained displaced from their homes while an estimated 590,000 people have been affected by the storm.

Currently the four worst-hit provinces Abra, Benguet, Cagayan and Ilocos Norte have been declared to be in a state of calamity due to the scale of the damage caused by the typhoon.

--IANS

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