MANILA, Philippines - Another disaster struck Philippines, 13 people died, 34 others were injured, while 10 remained
missing after landslides and flash floods hit the southern Philippines,
parts of which are still reeling from Typhoon Bopha, officials said.Five days of rains triggered by a low pressure system wreaked havoc in several parts of the region.
Two children, aged 4 and 6, died when landslides occurred in several
villages in Mt. Diwata, a mining town in Monkayo on Sunday,
Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, head of the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said on Monday.Five of the deaths were reported in Davao Oriental, del Rosario said. Several towns in that area were hit by Typhoon Bopha, which killed 1,000 people in December 2012.
- Four of the seven missing were from Monkayo, Compostela Valley. Two others have been identified as Jolito Solima, 32, who went missing while crossing a river in Agusan del Sur; and Michael Paran, 14, who was not seen again after he crossed a river in nearby Surigao del Norte. The rest were fishermen who went to sea despite bad weather.
- A total of 26,801 families or 132,379 people in 86 villages in the south were affected by the low pressure system, initially located near Surigao and later in Cagayan de Oro over the past four days, del Rosario said, adding that displaced people were being housed in 79 evacuation centres in 16 municipalities and 2 cities in the south.
- Meanwhile, 32 roads and 13 bridges were impassable in the affected areas. About 113 houses were totally damaged and 130 partially damaged in the same areas, the department of public works and highways said.
- Many residents were not aware of the danger of the low pressure system, said Gilbert Gonzales, NDRRMC’s southern provincial head.
- The weather system, located 70 kilometres southwest of Cagayan de Oro City in the south, might continue to ravage already affected areas until Wednesday, the state weather station said.
Heavy rains also affected central Philippines, which was also hit and
devastated by Typhoon Haiyan on November 8 last year, the state weather
station added. Haiyan killed 8,000, including 1,700 missing.Typhoon survivors still living in temporary shelters in central Philippines shuddered in fear following reports of the low pressure area in the south. More than 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.
Low pressure areas, however, are also fatal because they cause continuous rains and landslides.
Source: The Agencies
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