Tropical storm kills 12 in RP

Tropical storm kills 12 in RP

MANILA (Reuters): Tropical storm Rumbia has killed at least 12 people in the Philippines as it heads west towards the western island of Palawan and into the South China Sea where it is expected to gain strength, officials said on Saturday.

The storm, which has been passing through central and southern Philippine islands since Thursday, forced hundreds of families to flee their homes due to high waves and floods.

At 0400 GMT the storm was located southwest of San Jose, on the central Philippine island of Occidental Mindoro and it was moving westward at 13 km (eight miles) per hour.