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Tropical Storm Chanchu Leaves at Least 32 Dead in Philippines
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Chanchu left at least 32 people dead in the Philippines -- 25 from the sinking of a ferry boat -- and at least eight missing, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.
The confirmed deaths occurred as far north as Manila and as far south as Negros Occidental province, the agency said today in a report. Aside from the ferry sinking off Masbate island, most of the other deaths resulted from falling trees. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported as many as 35 people died.
More than 600 homes were destroyed, some ``carried by floodwaters,'' the report said. More than 42,000 persons were evacuated or otherwise ``affected'' by the storm. Crops, fisheries and at least two ports were destroyed, the report said.
Chanchu, the second named storm of the Pacific Ocean cyclone season, hit the country on the afternoon of May 12, with its strongest effects being felt through last night. The Philippines is regularly hit by typhoons that sweep in from the Pacific during the May-October cyclone season.
As of noon today, Chanchu was in the South China Sea 430 kilometers (266 miles) west of the country, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Philippine weather bureau. It was traveling west-southwest, in the direction of southern Vietnam, AFP said.
