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Manila/Iloilo: Flash floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Fengshen left at least 82 people dead in the Philippines, while an overflowing dam stranded thousands on rooftops, officials said on Saturday.
At least 30,000 people living in Iloilo in the central Philippines had scrambled onto rooftops fleeing the rushing water after the dam overflowed, said the city's acting mayor Jed Mabilog.
Rescuers have reported that many could be missing or killed, though this could not be independently confirmed, he said.
"I have received a lot of text messages appealing for helicopters, there are many people trapped on the rooftops," Iloilo congressman Serg Biron told DZBB radio. "This is the worst flooding that has hit Iloilo in history."
Radio reports estimate that about 70 per cent of Iloilo, one of the provinces in Panay island, were affected by the typhoon as flash flooding left many road unpassable.
Fengshen, upgraded from a tropical storm on Friday, swept through the country's centre over the weekend, unleashing torrential rains, causing power outages and forcing the evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people.
Officials said earlier that flash floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon had left at least 19 people dead. At 5pm (1pm UAE time) on Saturday, Fengshen was tracking northwest, packing winds of 195km/h as it headed towards Mindoro province.
It was forecast to dump heavy rain over large swathes of the central Visayas region and parts of the main island of Luzon through yesterday, the weather bureau said.
Ferry 'dead in water'
A ferry carrying about 700 people was stranded in wind-whipped waters off the coast of the central Philippines on Saturday, officials said.
Coast guard chief Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said the MV Princess of Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines, was "dead in the water" after its engine failed around noon near the central Philippine island of Sibuyan.
To avert large-scale damage, the National Disaster Coordinating Council had hoisted public storm signal No 3 over Roxas City and Iloilo as well as 12 other provinces in the country's western seaboard.
Prior to passing western Philippines, flashfloods displaced thousands of civilians in the South Central Mindanao region over the past two days.
With inputs from Gilbert Felongco, Correspondent
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