Tropical storm Washi swept across the Philippines last night leaving a least 430 dead and even more missing. The storm hit last night while many people were sleeping in their homes. 12 hours of continuous rain and wind pounded the islands overnight. Many river banks bursted causing big waves of water to slam into homes with the force of a truck while people slept overnight. The storm was only at tropical storm strength but the wind was not the killer in this storm. Rain on the mountain tops seeped into the ground causing some mountain slides and flash floods across the region. The death toll could reach as high as 700+ by the time all the damage is removed. The area is hit by 15+ typhoons every year but they usually tend to take a more northerly track then Washi did. Some reports have it that the flood waters got as high as 11 feet at the height of the storm. A lot of the population was able to escape to higher grounds and others fled to the northern islands before the storm made landfall. 20,000 soldiers have been deployed across the region trying desperately to find any survivors and recover any of the deceased. Floods swamped about 30% of  Iligan and about a dozen of outlying villages. More then ten thousand people were brought into shelters on higher ground. The storm dragged in warm pacific temperatures reaching up to 80 degrees in some parts around the impact area. In neighboring Taiwan temperatures are in the high 50′s and low 60′s instead of the Philippines high 70′s to mid 80′s. Although flood waters have receded since the height of the storm  it will still take a few days to a week until those rivers return back to a normal level. Most of the area remains without power and could not have any for the days to come.

from:    http://stormcentral1st.com/?p=4000