Philippines: Death toll from landslides, floods climbs to 85
Hanoi (VNA) - The death toll from
landslides and devastating floods in the central Philippines triggered by
tropical depression Usman climbed to 85, and 20 people were missing as rescuers
slowly reached cut-off communities, officials said on January 2.
The casualties, including young children, were mostly killed when their homes
collapsed in landslides after days of heavy rain in several provinces in the
central Philippines, said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the national
disaster agency.
If the rescue force do not recover the
missing or find them dead, the number of deaths will be 105, Jalad said.
Rescuers, including the police and military forces, used heavy-lifting equipment
to clear roads leading to landslide sites and entered flooded communities using
rubber boats.
Usman swept through the central Philippine
islands on December 29, brought heavy rain that triggered landslides and
flooding in the Bicol and eastern Visayas regions.
Bicol, with a population of 5.8 million, was
the hardest hit, with 68 killed in intense rains and landslides. Damage to
agriculture in Bicol, which produces rice and corn, was estimated at 342
million pesos (6.5 million USD).
Philippine officials put three provinces under a
“state of calamity” to give them access to emergency funds.
About 20 tropical storms lash the Philippines
each year, killing hundreds of people. The country’s deadliest storm on record
is Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing
across the central Philippines in November 2013. - VNA