STORMS BOSTON MANILA

Storm Death Toll Rises in Philippines By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 1 minute
ago MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Storm Chanchu gained strength Sunday as it headed away from the Philippines, where it killed 37 people and left thousands homeless, officials said. Most of the dead were aboard a ferry that sank near central Masbate island Friday after the skipper ignored a coast guard ban on sea travel. At least 26 people drowned, according to Neri Amparo, an official of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Coast guard boats and fishermen rescued 18 other passengers of the Mae Ann and were searching for at least two others who were reported missing by their families. Authorities have not found the ferry's passenger manifest and were unsure if there were other victims, Amparo said. This deadly accident could have been avoided if some people were not as hardheaded and heeded the coast guard's storm warnings," Amparo said.

Ten others died from drowning or after being struck by trees or concrete walls in three provinces and a Manila suburb that were swamped by floods and battered by strong winds. A fisherman drowned when his boat sank off central Iloilo province, officials said. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pledged to help victims and appealed to the public to heed storm warnings. She ordered a check on giant billboards built above congested communities in the capital after a number were destroyed, damaging two cars and at least one house.

Organizers were forced to shift the venue of an annual retreat of trade ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations from the popular palm-fringed resort island of Boracay, about 190 miles southeast of Manila, after the storm disrupted flights and knocked out power in nearby provinces. The meetings, which start Monday, were moved to Manila.
The storm made landfall on eastern Samar island late Thursday, sliced westward across the center of the archipelago and blew toward the South China Sea on Saturday, leaving rain and bad weather in its wake. An air force crew postponed helicopter flights requested by officials to survey storm damage in the provinces of Batangas and Mindoro south of Manila due to lingering winds, low clouds and poor visibility, said air force spokesman Maj. Augusto de la Pena.
Chanchu was roaring over the South China Sea, about 225 miles southwest of Manila, with gusts of up to 93 mph by mid-Sunday, according to Manila's weather agency. More than 42,000 people were affected by floods, landslides and heavy rains, including nearly 8,000 who had to be moved to government evacuation centers in five central rural regions where the storm passed, officials said. Strong winds and rain triggered floods, landslides and toppled trees and commercial billboards, destroying 600 houses and damaging 3,500 others, officials said. A ferry with 713 passengers ran aground as it sought shelter early Saturday morning off Tablas island, about 165 miles southeast of Manila. On Friday, the empty ferry MV Northern Samar sank after it was buffeted by waves while moored at a port in Tabaco town, 200 miles southeast of Manila.

Northeast Floods Spark States of Emergency By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI, Associated Press
Writer 1 hour, 14 minutes ago CONCORD, N.H. - Torrential rain forced hundreds of people from their homes in parts of New England on Sunday, as water flowed over dams and washed out roads. The governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts declared states of emergency, activating the National Guard to help communities respond to the storm. Maine's governor also declared a state of emergency for one county. It's a very serious situation," said New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, adding that forecasters were predicting 12 to 15 inches of rain by the end of the storm in parts of southern New Hampshire. "It continues to change and the situation continues to worsen.

A dam in Milton, N.H., was in danger of failing, which could send a 10-foot wall of water downstream, the National Weather Service said in a bulletin. People downstream were being evacuated in the town. The state Office of Emergency Management said at least a dozen dams were being closely watched. In Massachusetts, cars were pulled from flooded streets in downtown Peabody, about 20 miles north of Boston, and about 300 people were evacuated from an apartment complex for seniors.

About 150 residents in Melrose, Mass., had to leave their homes after sewage lines were overwhelmed, backing up into houses, said Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Some parts of New Hampshire had seen 7 inches of rain by midday Sunday and forecasters said up to 5 more inches might come during the day. About 100 residents were evacuated from their homes in Wakefield, N.H., because of concerns about two dams in the area. Officials also reported a railroad culvert and embankment washed out in Milton, with train tracks suspended in midair. And the local emergency management office in Hooksett said the town essentially was closed because so many roads were flooded.

Tom Johnson said water was flowing on Sunday into the basement of his Salem home, where a pump that handles 1,500 gallons of water an hour was not keeping up. There are areas in my backyard that are probably 3 feet deep and climbing as we speak," Johnson said. Flooding in New Hampshire in October killed seven people, carried off homes and washed away miles of roads down to bedrock. In Maine, flooding was reported on 60 roads in the southern part of the state, said governor's spokeswoman Crystal Canney.

Associated Press Writers Brandie M. Jefferson in Boston and Francis X. Quinn in Augusta, Maine, contributed to this report.