MANILA, Apr 13 (NNN-PNA) – The death toll from the tropical storm that battered the Philippines over the weekend rose to 43, including the 36 buried by landslides in the central Philippines, authorities said yesterday.
In a report, the Baybay City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office said, 36 bodies have been dug up so far, from the cascading mud and soil that buried houses in 10 affected villages. The report said over 100 villagers were injured in the landslides and flooding, triggered by storm Megi, which hit land on Sunday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported six storm-related deaths, and at least one missing in the central and southern Philippines. The agency tallied 14 deaths in Leyte province landslides so far, but it added that, it is verifying the death toll from the massive landslides.
The Philippine National Police also reported one death case due to in Samar province.
Captain Kaharudin Cadil, the Philippine Army Infantry Brigade spokesperson in the region, said, retrieval operations continued and at least 27 people were still missing.
Storm Megi unleashed floods and set off landslides that came crashing to the homes of mountain villagers, in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran, since Sunday. Cadil said, the landslides damaged roads and a bridge, making it impassable for rescuers and people to reach some of the buried villages.
Soldiers, police officers, and coast guard personnel are helping in the ongoing retrieval operations. Local officials said, the water level in major rivers is slowly receding and is no longer at a critical level.
Megi dumped rains in central Philippine, forcing authorities to evacuate thousands of residents to safety. The storm also stranded nearly 10,000 passengers, rushing to their hometowns for holiday, due to cancelled boat rides and flights.
Megi is the first tropical storm this year to hit country, which is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms every year. The Philippines archipelago lies on the Pacific typhoon belt, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.– NNN-PNA
