MANILA, Dec 31, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The death toll from landslides and
flooding triggered by heavy rains in the Philippines has risen to 61, the
government said on Monday.
The deaths were mostly due to landslides and drowning in the Bicol region
and Eastern Visayas in the northern and central Philippines, according to the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in its
latest report.
Fifty of the deaths were reported from the Bicol region while 11 from the
Eastern Visayas region.
The agency’s report also indicated there are still 18 people missing in
both regions.
The NDRRMC said its offices in the affected regions “are still on alert
and are continuously monitoring the on-going response in the affected areas.”
Moreover, the agency said that rescuers from the military, the police and
other government agencies are now conducting search, rescue and retrieval
operations in areas in the northern and central Philippines.
More than 79,000 people from 150 areas in the Philippines have been
affected by landslides and widespread flooding, according to the disaster
agency.
Aside from strong winds and heavy rains, areas ravaged by the tropical
depression experienced power outages. Several houses are buried in landslides
and roads sections were impassable due to severe flooding.
The agency floated the possibility that the death toll could increase as
retrieval operations continue.
The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development has provided
the evacuees with family food packs and other relief goods. The agency also
has standby emergency-relief funds worth around 212 million pesos (nearly 4
million U.S. dollars).
The country’s national weather bureau earlier warned heavy rains may pour
over the northern and central Philippines brought on by the tropical
depression, which has already weakened into a low-pressure area after making
landfall in Eastern Samar in the central Philippines on Saturday.
Although the low-pressure area already left the Philippines on Sunday, the
national weather bureau warned that more rain is expected in the coming days.