Flash floods triggered by a tropical storm have killed at least 40 people in the southern Philippines, with many more missing across vast regions, officials said .
The chief of the National Disaster Rescue Agency, Benito Ramos, said that officials were still getting reports from the field and that casualties would likely rise.

The floods were triggered by Tropical Storm Washi, which dumped heavy rains over the southern Mindanao region overnight.
Ramos said the dead included at least nine people in a single village in Lanao del Norte province, with floodwaters surging in the middle of the night and quickly reaching rooftops, trapping many residents and causing them to drown.
"Massive flooding had been reported over the region, especially in Iligan city and Cagayan de Oro city," Ramos said, adding that tens of thousands of people sought shelter on high ground.

Source: BNA