Manila, Philippines—Tropical Storm ‘Ramil’ (internationally known as Fengshen) headed out to sea Sunday after killing a family of five on the Philippines’ main island Luzon, officials and state weather forecasters said.
The family, including children aged two and 11 years old, were crushed to death in their sleep when a giant palm tree fell on their house near Pitogo, about 153 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of capital Manila.
“The entire family was asleep in a house made of light materials,” Governor Angelina Tan of Quezon province told Manila radio station DZMM, adding that a sixth member of the family survived.
Pitogo police official Sonny Ombajino confirmed the deaths, saying they occurred as the storm raked across the south of Luzon overnight.
At least 47,000 people headed to government-designated temporary shelters across southeast Luzon starting Saturday, local disaster officials said, as the weather service warned of possible coastal flooding and landslides.
Rain continued to batter the island as ‘Ramil’ made its way towards the South China Sea on Sunday.
It was expected to track northwest before eventually turning toward Vietnam with gusts of up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) an hour, according to the weather service.
The Philippines is hit annually by around 20 storms and typhoons, which routinely strike areas where millions of people live in poverty.
Typhoon Opong (Bualoi) killed 37 people and forced 400,000 to flee their homes in the northern Philippines.
Scientists warn that tropical storms are becoming more powerful as the planet warms due to human-driven climate change.
‘Ramil’ struck as the country was reeling from a series of major earthquakes that killed at least 87 people over the past three weeks.
