# Trami death toll climbs in the Philippines as rescuers search flooded areas
*Event date: 2024-10-27*
The death toll from Tropical Storm Trami rose sharply in the Philippines on 2024-10-27 as rescuers searched flooded communities, isolated villages and a lake where a family was reported missing.
Al Jazeera's reporting said the storm had killed at least 100 people and left another 36 missing, with officials warning that the total could still rise as crews reached places that had been cut off by flooding and landslides. More than half a million people fled their homes as the storm swept across the country.
The hardest-hit province named in the report was Batangas, south of Manila, where the police chief said the death toll had reached 55. Police in the Bicol region also recorded 38 deaths, most of them linked to drowning. Separate deaths were reported in Cavite, including cases of electrocution and drowning, while other bodies were recovered in additional provinces, pushing the total to 100 based on police and disaster-agency figures at that stage.
Search teams were still trying to find a family of seven at Taal Lake in Batangas, and officials said many residents remained trapped on roofs or upper floors in parts of Camarines Sur. The weather had improved enough to allow cleanup and rescue work in some areas, but local authorities said that easier access could expose more victims in places that had been isolated by mudslides and floodwaters.
The report also described the mechanism of the disaster in Batangas, where rain-triggered landslides buried homes, and more than 20 bodies were pulled from mud, boulders and fallen trees. That detail underscored how the storm's toll came not only from flooding but also from secondary hazards created by heavy rain on unstable ground.
Trami arrived only days before the figures in the report were compiled, hitting the Philippines on October 24. It quickly became one of the deadliest storms in the country that year. The Philippines experiences around 20 major storms or typhoons annually, but the article noted that researchers have found changing storm patterns in the wider Asia-Pacific region, with systems forming closer to coasts, intensifying faster and lasting longer over land.
The report made clear that the situation remained fluid. The difference between the 100-dead figure and the 136 dead-or-missing headline reflected the still-moving counts of deaths and disappearances as rescue teams continued to work. What was already certain, however, was that Trami had become a major disaster event with broad impact across several provinces and a search effort that was still far from over.
Source notes
This article uses Al Jazeera's account of the casualty counts, rescue efforts and provincial breakdowns reported on 2024-10-27.
