Philippines says 12 dead due to landslides, floods
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Pedestrians crossing a flooded street after heavy rain in Manila on Aug 10.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – Landslides and floods caused by non-stop monsoon rain have killed at least 12 people in the Philippines, while eight more are missing, the authorities said.
More than half a million people in 33 provinces have been affected by the south-west monsoon, which has been enhanced by two tropical cyclones, according to the Philippine government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The agency also reported damage to hundreds of homes and infrastructure.
In the mountainous city of Baguio on the main Luzon island, four people died and six others were missing after a landslide buried several houses, the Baguio public information office said in a Facebook post.
Around 150 rescuers are working on rotation as a search and retrieval operation continues, it said, adding that a dozen other landslide incidents have been monitored in Baguio City amid continued heavy rain.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Aug 10 ordered government workers to work from home, and officials to implement alternative learning modes for schools in Metro Manila and more than a dozen provinces, as heavy rainfall flooded towns and major thoroughfares. BLOOMBERG
