Marcos urged to declare emergency after typhoon kills 45 in Philippines

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- State officials on Saturday urged Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a nationwide state of emergency after Tropical Storm Nalgae was blamed for 45 deaths across the country.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council advised Marcos during a virtual meeting of the panel to designate the typhoon an official disaster and declare a national emergency lasting until the end of the year.

Marcos instructed the NDRRMC to begin immediate distribution of bottled water, food, and water purifying machines to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and other affected regions, adding that it prioritize restoring power supplies to hospitals, evacuation centers, and households.

Construction equipment should be deployed as soon as possible for the reconstruction and clearing of roads and bridges, the Philippines leader ordered.

A state of disaster declaration allows the government to tap emergency funds and to crack down on profiteering for basic necessities. It also enables the issuance of interest-free loans.

Disaster officials on Saturday placed the official death toll from Tropical Storm Nalgae at 45, revising an early report of 72 killed. The NDRRMC blamed the discrepancy on some fatalities from Mindanao being erroneously counted twice.

As of Saturday night local time, nearly 140,000 families or 375,000 people, have been affected by the storm, the agency estimated.