Tropical storm Nalgae hit the Philippines hard on Saturday, causing landslides and flash floods that left at least 72 people dead, as per local officials.

After touching down on the sparsely populated Catanduanes Island before dawn, Nalgae pounded the main island of the archipelago nation of Luzon with winds that reached 95 kilometers per hour (59 miles per hour).

According to the official weather service, heavy rains brought on by the approaching storm started falling in the southern Philippines on Thursday, flooding mostly rural areas on the island of Mindanao.

Landslides and flooding then occurred, with swiftly moving, debris-filled waters in some areas sweeping away entire families and damaging close to 500 homes.

The director of the nation's civil defense Rafaelito Alejandro said that 72 people have died as of Saturday morning, up from the 13 reported on Friday.

He added that 33 people were hurt and at least 14 people were still missing.

One of the deadliest risks posed by typhoons in recent years in the Philippines has been flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides.

In several areas of the central Philippines, flooding was also reported, but no fatalities were noted there.

More than 7,000 people were evacuated before the storm made landfall, the civil defense office reported.

The storm hit the Philippines at the start of a long weekend when many people travel back to their hometowns to visit the graves of their relatives. Every year, the Philippines experiences 20 major storms, which kill hundreds of people and keep large areas in abject poverty.

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