Philippine flood death toll rises to 56

Search and rescue efforts have stepped up as the death toll from landslides and floods that hit the central and southern Philippines rose to at least 56, with 28 others still missing.

The death toll from heavy floods in the Philippines has risen to at least 56 people.

Nearly 200 villagers were injured mostly in the landslides in the hard-hit city of Baybay in central Leyte province over the weekend and early Monday, officials said.

Army, police and other rescuers were struggling with mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find the missing villagers.

More rescuers and heavy equipment have arrived in the landslide-hit villages in Baybay, with mayor, Jose Carlos Cari saying the weather cleared on Wednesday, allowing the search and rescue work to pick up pace.

"We're looking for so many more missing people," Cari said, adding authorities were doing a recount to determine how many villagers were really missing and believed buried in the landslides.

A total of 47 bodies were recovered from landslides that hit six Baybay villages, military and local officials said.

Nine other people drowned elsewhere in floodwaters in four central and southern provinces, they said.

"We are saddened by this dreadful incident that caused an unfortunate loss of lives and destruction of properties," said army brigade commander Colonel Noel Vestuir, who was helping oversee the search and rescue.

Coast guard, police and firefighters rescued some villagers on Monday in flooded central communities, including some who were trapped on their roofs.

In central Cebu city, schools and work were suspended on Monday and Mayor Michael Rama declared a state of calamity to allow the rapid release of emergency funds.

At least 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year, mostly during the rainy season that begins around June.

The disaster-prone Southeast Asian nation lies on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where many of the world's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

Tropical storm Megi: Philippines death toll rises to 123 as landslides bury villages

© Bobbie AlotaAn aerial view of a landslide that hit a village in the Philippines’ Leyte province

The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 123 on Wednesday with scores missing and feared dead, officials said, as rescuers dug up more bodies with bare hands and backhoes in crushed villages.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi - the strongest to hit the archipelago this year - were in the central province of Leyte, where a series of landslides devastated communities.

Eighty six of the casualties were in Baybay, a mountainous area in the province, where 236 people were also injured, the city government said in a report. Waves of sodden soil had smashed into farming settlements in Baybay city.

Twenty-six people died and about 150 were missing in the coastal village of Pilar, which is part of Abuyog municipality, after a torrent of mud and earth on Tuesday pushed houses into the sea and buried most of the settlement, authorities said.

"I have to be honest, we are no longer expecting survivors," Abuyog mayor Lemuel Traya said, adding that emergency personnel were now focused on the difficult task of retrieving bodies.

About 250 people were in evacuation centres after being rescued by boat after roads were cut by landslides, he said. A number of villagers were also in hospital.

A rumbling sound like "a helicopter" alerted Ara Mae Canuto, 22, to the landslide hurtling towards her family's home in Pilar. She said she tried to outrun it but was swept into the water and nearly drowned.

"I swallowed dirt, and my ears and nose are full of mud," Canuto said by phone from her hospital bed. Her father died and her mother has not been found.

Megi, which made landfall on Sunday with sustained winds of up to 65kph and gusts of up to 80kph, has since dissipated.

Leyte death toll due to 'Agaton' reaches 156

The number of fatalities in Baybay City and Abuyog town in Leyte due to Tropical Depression Agaton has increased to 156, according to local authorities.

In its 6 p.m report on Friday, the Baybay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said it has recorded 110 deaths.

The recovered remains were from the villages of Kantagnos (50), Mailhi (21), Bunga (17), Can-ipa (5), San Agustin (3), Maypatag (2), Pangasugan (VSU) (2), Palhi (2). One body each came from the following villages: Candadam, Zone 21, Caridad, Igang, Sto. Rosario, Gacat, Apid, and Inopacan.

Of these, 26 are "gender not known," authorities said. Around 94 others remain missing, they added.

Meanwhile, Abuyog town has listed 46 new casualties after 11 more bodies were found on Thursday afternoon, the provincial police office confirmed.

Forty-two of the bodies were from Pilar village, two from Bahay, and one each from Tib-o and Combis village.

According to Abuyog Mayor Jemuel Kin Traya, at least 150 residents from the municipality are still missing.

172 Die, 110 Missing After Floods Wreck Havoc In Philippines

The death toll in landslides and floods caused by this year's first tropical storm in the Philippines has risen to 172 and 110 people have been declared missing by the country's disaster management agency.

Of the victims, 156 were from Leyte province, some 600 kilometres southeast of Manila, the country's capital, where landslides devastated communities in Baybay City and Abuyog town.

Confirming the development, the country's national disaster agency disclosed that at least 104 people were still missing from both areas and that efforts have been intensified to ensure that they were found.

Through the statement released on Sunday, the agency stated that 16 people have died after flood-ravaged Megi axis and thousands of others have been left homeless in the town.

It would be recalled that the community came under flood, with many losing their property after consistent rainfall was recorded beginning from April 10.

More than two million people in 30 provinces were affected by the storm, which forced more than 207,500 residents to flee their homes and stay in an evacuation centre.

Damage to agriculture, houses, and public infrastructure was estimated at more than 257 million pesos (5 million dollars), the agency said.

Philippine storm death toll climbs to 224, 147 more missing

The death toll in the Philippines from the landslides and flooding spawned by tropical storm Megi rose to 224, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday (April 21).

The government agency that culls reports from the provinces affected by disasters also added 147 more are missing. The agency said 221 deaths were recorded in the central Philippines and three in the southern Philippines.

Megi dumped rains in central and southern Philippine regions before and after it hit land on April 10, inundating many areas and triggering landslides in several villages in Leyte province.

The central Philippines is in the typhoon alley and usually the gateway of typhoons to the country. Landslides and flash floods are common across the Philippines during the rainy season, especially when typhoons hit.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, mainly due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire and Pacific typhoon belt.

On average, this archipelagic country experiences 20 typhoons every year, some of which are intense and destructive. Megi is the first storm to batter the Southeast Asian country this year.