Torrential rain continues in the Philippines

More severe weather is expected as Tropical Cyclone Lingling forms to east of the country.

The death toll has now risen to 40 and there are concerns that more severe weather could be on the way [AFP]

Heavy rain has poured across the Philippines for the last nine days, triggering floods and landslides.

The death toll has now risen to 40 and there are concerns that more severe weather could be on the way.

A tropical depression has now formed to the east of Mindanao.

The storm has been named Lingling, but fortunately is not expected to develop into a very powerful storm.

However, the tropical depression has formed within a wide region of torrential rain, and this is going to continue to pound the region with more heavy rain over the coming days.

Already over 160,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Mindanao and have moved into evacuation centres.

The area being hit by the torrential rain extends over a huge region, not just the island of Mindanao. It includes Tacloban, one of the cities which was worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan.

Haiyan was the most powerful tropical storm on record ever to make landfall anywhere in the world, and it decimated much of Tacloban.

The storm left nearly 8,000 dead and millions of people are still homeless.

More intense downpours are expected over the next few days, but the rain is slowly shifting south. This means Tacloban will avoid the worst of the weather, but Mindanao is threatened by further flooding and landslides.

Source: Al Jazeera