Body count in Tarlac rises to 9

TARLAC CITY — Search and rescue teams continued to scour flood-stricken villages in Tarlac, particularly in Paniqui town, for more missing people.

This, as the death toll from floods in the province has risen to nine.

A total of 2,395 families or nearly 10,000 people remained in evacuation centers, although 7,525 families were affected by the floods caused by the collapse of an earth dike along the Tarlac River in Barangay Colibangbang in Paniqui town.

Yesterday morning, the bodies of Romulo Laureta, 29, and Gerardo Calosing were fished out from the receding flood—waters in Paniqui.

Earlier, the remains of Anita Ronquillo, 70, and her 10-year-old grandson, Onofre Domingo Jr., also both of Paniqui, were retrieved from the sand and lahar piled up by floodwaters. Still missing since last Friday is the boy’s sister Christine Joy. — Benjie Villa