Asia/South Asia
6 years ago

Landslides in Philippines leave 26 dead

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At least 26 people have died in central Philippines after tropical storm Kai-tak brought heavy rains that triggered landslides.

Local authorities and media said on Sunday that several residents remain missing over the incident at an island province of the country.

The storm, Kai-tak, cut power supplies in many areas, forced the cancellation of several flights, stranded more than 15,000 people in various ports in the region.

Nearly 88,000 people to seek shelter in evacuation centres.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Biliran island said 26 residents had died.

But the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has yet to make any official announcement about fatalities.

Biliran Governor Gerardo Espina Jr confirmed the deaths in an interview with DZMM radio, with 23 people still missing, he said.

“We received reports of three deaths coming from the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) but these are for confirmation,” said NDRRMC spokeswoman Romina Marasigan. “We are still trying to check the others.”

Reuters says, many areas were flooded, damaging crops and infrastructure.

Kai-tak has weakened to a tropical depression after barrelling through the eastern region of Visayas on Saturday.

It hit islands and coastal towns such as Tacloban City where supertyphoon Haiyan claimed 8,000 lives in 2013.

Locally known as Urduja, Kai-tak was packing winds of 55 kilometres (31 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 80 km/h, according to a weather bureau bulletin issued at 2000 GMT.

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