Ferdinand Marcos rules out decreeing a state of calamity after the storm 'Nalgae' passed through the Philippines

MADRID, 31 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Philippines, Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr, has indicated that it is not necessary to declare a state of calamity throughout the country, after the passage of tropical storm 'Nalgae' that has left a hundred dead and more than a million of affected.

Marcos Jr has said that the National Council for Disaster Risk Management and Reduction has explained that it is unnecessary to decree such a state of calamity since the effects of 'Nalgae' have been "very localized", reports the PhilStar newspaper.

"We are talking about the east coast of Quezon, Cavite, and Maguindánao (...) those are the areas (...) there is no need to decree national calamity for other regions," the Philippine president justified.

The recommendation of the department of environment and disasters comes shortly after it initially recommended decreeing a state of calamity after the passage through the Philippines of 'Nalgae', after 16 of the 17 regions of the country were at "high risk" due to the consequences of the storm.

As 'Nalgae' leaves the radar of the Philippine authorities, tropical storm 'Queenie' has appeared in the last few hours, hitting the west and southwest of the country in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

At least 98 people have died and more than 1.8 million have been affected by flooding caused by heavy rains. There are dozens of wounded and close to 70 missing. The rainfall has caused power outages, including in the capital Manila, where many districts are still without power, as well as the cancellation of many flights.

Due to the torrential rains, the alert is maintained for possible landslides and floods, the main causes of the almost one hundred deaths that have been registered so far. Nalgae is the twelfth tropical storm to hit the Philippines so far in 2022.