About 100 Feared Dead in the Philippines
INCLUDING AT LEAST 43 PEOPLE BURIED IN A LANDSLIDE
More than 154,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes in the affected communities
About 100 people in the Philippines are feared dead as a result of severe winds, heavy rainfall and flooding brought by Typhoon Mangkhut, including at least 43 people buried in a landslide, officials said on Sunday. The people were trapped in a shelter at an old mining site in the town of Itogon, nearly 125 miles north of Manila, which “went missing” during a landslide, Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said. Thirty-two other people were reported dead in separate incidents in Itogon, he said.
“I can’t begin to accept this, but it looks like the casualties here are going to go up to at least 100,” he said.
The government earlier confirmed 28 deaths in landslides and other accidents in areas outside Itogon when Mangkhut swept through on Saturday.
Mr Palangdan said the area around the shelter was “dangerous because there was a big tunnel mined” by a private corporation decades ago.
“No more mining should be done in this municipality,” he said.
Mangkhut blew out of the Philippines on Saturday evening after pummeling the northern region of Luzon with heavy rains and fierce winds.
The typhoon, the strongest to hit the Philippines so far this year, also triggered floods and knocked out electricity in seven provinces, affecting more than 4 million people. Foreign aid has begun to trickle in for victims of the typhoon, with Australia pledging to provide more than US$572,000 (FJ$1.21m) worth of emergency supplies, such as sleeping mats, blankets and hygiene kits for up to 25,000 people.
Australia said it was also sending humanitarian experts, including a disaster risk reduction specialist, to the Philippines.
The United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations World Food Program were co-ordinating with the Philippines’ social welfare department to send at least 1100 tons of rice. Mangkhut lashed the northern Philippines with maximum winds of 127 mph and gusts of up to 177 mph. It weakened as it left the country on Saturday evening, heading towards southern China. More than 154,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes in the affected communities, especially coastal areas, according to the risk reduction council.