BACOLOD CITY, Philippines Oct. 29 -- A severe storm battered the central Philippines over the weekend, leaving at least 62 people dead and hundreds of families homeless, officials said Sunday. Tropical Storm Pepang with gusts of up to 83 mph (135 kph) triggered massive floods in wide areas in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Cebu and Leyte, some 370 miles (590 km) south of Manila. Governor Rafael Coscolluela said at least 56 people drowned as Pepang triggered flash floods up to four feet high, downed trees, damaged houses and cut power and telephone lines. He added 18 others were missing in Bacolod City, 300 miles (480 km) south of Manila. Coscolluela said hundreds of families were forced to flee coastal villages in the central province, and to move to public schools and churches that served as evacuation centers. Manila's National Disaster Coordinating Council reported 35 people killed in Negros Occidental. But officials said the death toll could rise as communication to central provinces were restored. The disaster council said 60 percent of Negros province was damaged by Pepang, where more than 3,900 people were displaced. In nearby Cebu province, police said at least four people, including a nine-year old boy, drowned. They also said a woman was crushed to death when a tree fell on her. Two thousand families were forced to evacuate their homes as flood waters continued to rise, Cebu officials said. At the height of the storm on Saturday, an inter-island ferry with 60 passengers capsized off the coast of Leyte province, leaving one man dead and eight others missing, coast guard officials said. Lt. Commander Beltran Montinola, operations chief of the Philippine Coast Guard, said 53 crewmen were rescued by other vessels immediately after the accident.
Manila's weather bureau said Pepang was moving northwest at 11 mph (19 kph) toward the South China Sea.
