Warning against Philippines travel as floods claim 430 lives

Many people were asleep when a tropical storm reached landfall at night and hit southern cities including Iligan and Cagayan de Oro on Mindanao Island.

It brought 12 hours of sustained rainfall, causing landslides, rivers to burst their banks and sending walls of water crashing down mountain slopes into homes.

Before the floods struck the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had already advised Britons against travelling to the region due to terrorist and insurgent activity, and in the wake of the disaster they urged anyone in the area to contact friends and relatives.

Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said: “The loss of life by flooding in the Philippines is tragic.

“I visited the Philippines earlier this month and know how keenly this loss will be felt by all its people.

“I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those affected. My thoughts are with them and the Government of the Philippines as they lead the recovery work.”

Hundreds of people were missing amid fears from aid agencies that the death toll will rise once their teams manage to reach outlying areas.

A FCO spokeswoman said they were not aware of any British deaths or casualties.

Tens of thousands of people sought shelter on high ground, and thousands of soldiers, backed by emergency teams, were mobilised to help clear coastal cities.

Philippine Red Cross secretary general Gwen Pang said tonight that 436 people have so far been declared dead, mainly in IIigan and Cagayan de Oro.

Ms Pang told the Press Association: “We are expecting to receive a higher number of people who have died because we haven’t reached many areas yet.

“Not only that, but the floods have damaged properties and livelihoods. We are appealing for support because the need for help is really great on the ground.

“People have lost everything so we need sleeping materials, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, medicine and temporary shelter.”

Relief teams for World Vision, whose international HQ is in London, said thousands are in evacuation centres but some families returned to their homes because of lack of space.

Aid worker, Bebeth Tiu, 54, said: “A lot of people who were affected lived near river banks. One of my colleagues said he and his family had to climb on to their rooftop at 2am.

“Another said they had to all go to the second floor of their house because the water was getting higher, rising to about 10ft high, and it was dark.”

Benito Ramos, the chief of the national disaster rescue agency, said the dead included at least nine people in a single village in Lanao del Norte province.

The tropical storm responsible - Washi - is the 19th storm to hit the Philippines this year but is unprecedented in its scale for many areas affected, according to Ms Pang.

It comes after back-to-back typhoons in September left more than 100 people dead in the northern area of the country.

World Vision aid worker John Salva said: “The most urgent needs are water and ready-to-eat foods.

“Even if people were able to salvage rice, there is no safe water or electricity to cook.

“People told us they woke up to find their belongings, TV sets and the like, floating past them. The flooding came from nowhere.”

Another aid worker, Crislyn Felisilda, said that children who had lost their families were their main concern.

She said: “I spoke with a 13-year-old girl, Remy, whose mother was found dead and whose father and two siblings were still missing.

“Many children like Remy that I spoke with were crying, others just stared into space. Many children are looking for their loved ones.”