Flash flooding and multiple landslides have killed at least 31 people in the Philippines.<br /><br />Many more are still missing as heavy rains brought on by an approaching tropical storm hit the south of the country.<br /><br />The authorities have already evacuated thousands out of Storm Nalgae’s path, which is packing winds of 47 miles per hour.<br /><br />Disaster officials predict the storm could make landfall in central Philippines on Friday night (October 28).<br /><br />Although the local weather bureau has warned the storm could intensify as it progresses.<br /><br />And government officials in the southern Maguindanao province say rainfall has, so far, exceeded expectations.<br /><br />In the province of Sultan Kudarat, also in the south, images released by the coast guard shows rescue workers using rubber boats to rescue residents trapped in chest-deep waters.<br /><br />The storm has forced flight cancellations just as thousands of people were planning to travel to their home towns to observe All Souls Day on Wednesday (November 2).<br /><br />Schools have also been shut and some ports seen operations paralyzed.<br /><br />Landslides and floods are frequent in the Philippines.<br /><br />That’s due in part to the growing intensity of tropical cyclones that regularly batter the country.<br /><br />The Philippines sees an average 20 typhoons a year.
