* Death toll climbs to 67, with 12 still missing
* Nearly 26,000 houses damaged by Typhoon Vamco
* Illegal logging, mining also blamed for floods
(Adds quotes)
MANILA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The death toll from the deadliest
cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67,
while many areas remained submerged in a northern region hit by
the worst flooding in more than four decades, officials said on
Sunday.
President Rodrigo Duterte flew to Tuguegarao province to
assess the situation in Cagayan Valley region, which was heavily
flooded after Typhoon Vamco dumped rain over swathes of the main
Luzon island, including the capital, metropolitan Manila.
Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in
southern Luzon, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other
regions, said Mark Timbal, the disaster management agency
spokesman.
Twelve people were still missing and nearly 26,000 houses
were damaged by Vamco, he said.
"This is the worst flooding that we had in the last 45
years," Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba said during a briefing
with Duterte. "We see that it is worsening every year."
The accumulated effects of weather disturbances and huge
volumes of water from a dam affected thousands of families in
Cagayan, some of whom had fled to rooftops to escape two-storey
high floods.
Six cyclones hit the Philippines in a span of just four
weeks, including Vamco and Super Typhoon Goni, the world's most
powerful this year.
But Mamba also lamented about denuded forests in Cagayan,
prompting Duterte to order him to curb logging operations in the
province.
"We always talk about illegal logging and mining but nothing
has been done about it," Duterte said.
Relief and rescue operations continued in Cagayan even as
the nearby Magat Dam was still releasing water, two days after
releasing a volume equivalent to two Olympic-size pools per
second, based on government data. Vamco, the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines this year,
also caused the worst flooding in years in parts of the capital.