Dozens of people were killed in the eastern Philippines in a weekend storm that set off landslides and flash floods as the country prepared for the New Year, officials said Monday.
The national disaster management agency said the storm, which struck the region of Bicol on Saturday, had left at least 61 dead, while 18 others were missing, reports bdnews24.com quoting The New York Times.
Most of the casualties were due to rain-induced floods and landslides, with many residents choosing to stay home rather than spend the holidays in evacuation camps, the agency said.
The storm, locally called Usman, had maximum winds of 34 mph. Deadly storms are a regular occurrence in the Philippines, and this one had raised little alarm despite being relatively strong.
It dumped heavy rains that loosened the saturated soil on mountainsides, setting off landslides, officials said.
Search operations were concentrated in the heavily populated city of Legazpi and the town of Libon in Albay province, where landslides and flooding were reported.
About 100 soldiers, fire-fighters and police officers were involved in the search. Rubber boats were also deployed in flooded areas, the disaster management agency said.
Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, said on Twitter that teams had responded to landslide emergencies in the Albay province town of Tiwi. The images he posted showed rescuers retrieving the dead.
Edgar Posadas, a spokesman for the disaster management agency, said the government had warned residents to seek safety days before the storm arrived.
“The government has played its role here,” he said. “What we need is immediate action and sincere participation of the people in the communities in times of calamities.”
In September, more than 100 people in the Philippines were killed when Typhoon Mangkhut tore through the country, including dozens of people in two landslides after the storm.
