At least 42 people have been killed in the Philippines since the onset of Hurricane Maggie, which caused massive landslides, authorities said, adding that the search for missing persons has now been suspended due to darkness.
Blocked by mud and rain, rescue teams spent the whole day searching, sometimes with bare hands, for survivors in mountain villages sunk in the mud.
On the outskirts of Baybay, the worst-hit area in central Leite County, rescue operations were halted as night fell because it was “too dangerous” to continue in the dark and rain, said Marissa City spokeswoman Marisa. Miguel Cano.
At least 36 people have been killed in villages around Babey, 26 are missing and about 100 have been injured, according to local authorities.
Three people were also killed in the Negros Oriental province and three others on the southern island of Mindanao, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. More than 17,000 people have fled their homes.
Fourteen bodies were found in the village of Mailhi, near Baybay, Army Capt. Kaharuddin Kandil told AFP.
“Houses were buried in the mud after a landslide. We have collected most of the corpses buried in the mud,” he added.
In Bunga, another village on the outskirts, only a few houses stand out from the reddish mud that swept a hill with coconut palms. At least 7 of its inhabitants lost their lives and 20 are missing.
In Kadagnos, also near Baybay, two landslides killed at least four people and left an unknown number missing.
“There was a small landslide and some people managed to run and escape and a bigger one followed which buried the whole village,” Jose Carlos Curry, the mayor of Baybay, told a local radio station.
“We are looking for a lot of people, there are 210 houses here,” he continued.
App Cina Baino, who managed to escape her flooded home in Baybay, said her family was still struggling to recover from a December hurricane.
“Climate changes”
“We are supposed to be in the middle of a drought, but climate change seems to have disrupted it all,” said Marisa Miguel Cano, a spokeswoman for the Baybay municipality.
According to her, landslides sometimes occur in this rural area, but the extent of them on Monday was amazing.
As the planet is affected by climate change, tropical storms and hurricanes are becoming increasingly powerful, scientists warn.
The landslides near Baybay were caused by what was considered “danger zones” and many residents were taken aback while they were at home, Mark Timbal, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency, told AFP.
Maggie, known locally in the Philippines as Agaton, is the first major tropical storm to hit the country this year, often with natural disasters.
The storm caused dozens of ports to close and almost 8,000 people were stranded before the Easter holidays, one of the most important travel times of the year.
The country reopened its borders only in February to vaccinated tourists from most foreign countries, after the lifting of most of the restrictive measures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines, which ranks among the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming, is hit by an average of 20 tropical storms a year.
The death toll or missing in 2013 from Hurricane Haiyan, one of the strongest to ever hit Earth, is estimated at more than 7,300.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
