Death toll from Philippines landslides, floods rises to 58

Baku, April 13, AZERTAC

The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines has risen to 58 as rescuers dug up more bodies with their bare hands in villages buried in rain-fuelled landslides, according to Aljazeera.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi – the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago this year – were in the central province of Leyte. At least 47 people were confirmed to have been killed and more than 100 injured after waves of mud smashed into some six villages around Baybay City over the weekend, local authorities said. Some 27 people remain missing.

Army, police and other rescuers were struggling with mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find them. Three people were also killed in the central province of Negros Oriental and three others on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the national disaster agency.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.