TS Mirinae leaves death in its wake as it exits Philippines

Tropical storm Mirinae exited the Philippines this afternoon local time having moved across the island fairly rapidly. Even so, 6 - 12 people were killed at current estimates. The reson for these deaths is not clear to me. At least one person died from drowning and one from extreme cold. Whether the others are due to flooding or due to wind damage and flying debris is not clear from the reports I've read.

'Santi' weakens into a tropical storm, leaves at least 12 dead (GMA News)

At least 12 people were reported dead due to tropical cyclone Santi (international name: Mirinae), which has weakened into a tropical storm as it moves farther away from the country on Saturday afternoon.

As Santi exits the country, only Lubang Island located northwest of Mindoro remains under Storm Signal No. 1.

Three people were killed and five others remain missing in Laguna, the province’s disaster coordinating council said.

Two of the fatalities were identified as Julieta Tagili and Margie Etaquino, both residents of Pagsanjan town in Laguna.Seven more deaths were reported in the Bicol region, one in Catanduanes and six in Camarines Norte.

According to Region 5 Disaster Coordinating Council Director Bernardo Alejandro, one of the fatalities from Camarines Norte died due to extreme cold, while the one from Catanduanes drowned in the floods caused by Santi.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), meanwhile, said in a radio interview that two more unidentified persons were reported killed in Muntinlupa City, also due to drowning.

The area has been inundated with tropical cyclones over the past month. Now as the region begins recovery once again, there are reports that disturbed weather may be developing into new storms that could menace the area further.

Santi exits Philippines;2 more storms brewing (Business World)

TYPHOON Santi (international name:Mirinae) is forecast to exit the Philippines Sunday morning as it moves towards the South China sea, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Saturday.

In its 4 p.m. report, the weather bureau said Santi, with peak winds of 105 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 135 kph, is moving west at 20 kph and is continuing to move away from the country.

The storm is forecast at 670 km west-southwest of the capital Sunday afternoon. Storm signal 1 is still up over Lubang island.

The weather bureau has lowered storm signals in most of Luzon Saturday afternoon as the typhoon weakened into a tropical storm.

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At least two more storms coming

In a briefing on Saturday, PAGASA administrator Prisco T. Nilo said the weather bureau expects at least two tropical cyclones to enter Philippine waters until December.

He said it is monitoring cloud formations over the Pacific Ocean which might develop into an active low pressure in the coming days.

Mr. Nilo said it is now safe to travel by land to northern and Central Luzon.

There is very minimal possibility for Santi to make a "u-turn", he said. International and local flights were allowed as of 10 a.m. Saturday.

Mr. Cruz, however, warned of storm surges in the western coast of the mainland.