'Typhoon Gloria' kills 23 in RP

'Typhoon Gloria' kills 23 in RP

MANILA (Reuter): One person was killed and 14 were missing after flash floods generated by Typhoon Gloria swept a bus off a road on a central Philippine island, police said yesterday.

The bus was carrying 30 passengers when it was swept off a road on the island of Mindoro, 180 kilometers south of Manila, police said.

The accident, which occurred on Thursday night, brought the death toll in the Philippines from Gloria's passage to 23 with 20 missing, disaster officials said. They had earlier said the death toll was at least 20.

Floods have also swamped hundreds of hectares of cropland, they said.

At least 18,000 families fled their homes to escape landslides and rain-swollen rivers threatening to burst their banks.