Maring leaves 17 dead

Seventeen persons were reported dead during the onslaught of Tropical Depression Maring in Metro Manila and Luzon last week, disaster management officials said yesterday.

Of the figure, five were confirmed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the rest are still being verified, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Among the fatalities were a three-month-old baby boy, a 12-year-old girl, a 32-year- old woman and two teenage brothers, NDRRMC spokesperson Romina Marasigan told yesterday.

Authorities are still searching for nine persons who were reported missing during the typhoon.

Meanwhile, heavy rains are expected in the eastern section of the country today due to a trough or extension of a low-pressure area spotted off Eastern Samar.

As of 3 p.m. yesterday, the low-pressure was at 685 kilometers east of Borongan City, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

The low-pressure was not expected to develop into a cyclone within the next 24 hours.

Occasional heavy rains with strong winds will affect the Bicol region, the Visayas, Zamboanga peninsula, Northern Mindanao and Caraga region.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers, mostly in the afternoon or night.