Authorities in China are bracing for a severe storm that has left more than 100 dead in the Philippines and may intensify into a cyclone.
The China Meteorological Administration on Monday activated "level 4 emergency responses" to address the impacts of Nalgae, which it classified as a typhoon.
"Under this emergency state, it is required that relevant meteorological departments and provincial meteorological departments like Guangdong, Hainan, Fujian, and Guangxi enter the emergency position immediately and put timely and precise forecast and refined services for the government, related sector and the public in place," the national weather service said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Philippine rescuers on Monday waded through thigh-deep mud and used long pieces of wood to search for bodies buried by a landslide, as the death toll from the storm rose to 101.
Just over half of the fatalities were from a series of flash floods and landslides unleashed by Nalgae, which destroyed villages on the southern island of Mindanao on Friday.
Mindanao is rarely hit by the 20 or so typhoons that strike the Philippines each year, but storms that do reach the region tend to be deadlier than in Luzon and central parts of the country.
There is little hope of finding survivors in the worst-hit areas after the storm swept across the archipelago nation, inundating communities in and around the capital Manila over the weekend.
The national disaster agency has recorded 66 people still missing and scores of others injured.
President Ferdinand Marcos began touring some of the hard-hit areas on Monday, including Noveleta, as aid agencies rushed food packs, drinking water and other relief to victims.
He said pre-emptive evacuations in Noveleta had saved lives.
"While the calamity was huge, the number of casualties was not that high, although there's a lot of damage to infrastructure," he said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned the tropical storm could reach typhoon category on Tuesday as it moved away from the Philippines.
PAGASA forecast the storm to track north, north-west until Tuesday before turning north-west on Wednesday and west, north-west on Thursday while approaching the coast of southern China.
"However, a weakening trend due to cooler seas and increasingly unfavourable atmospheric conditions may begin by [Tuesday] evening or on Wednesday," the weather agency said
PAGASA also warned another tropical storm was heading towards the Philippines even as Nalgae moved across the South China Sea.
Starting on Wednesday, Tropical Storm Queenie could bring more heavy rain to southern and central regions of the Philippines which were badly affected by Nalgae.
