Police reported Thursday that one person died and three others were missing in the southern Philippines after being hit by a landslide, bringing the national death toll from recent storms to at least 33.
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, with scientists warning that storms are becoming more powerful as the planet warms. The province of Misamis Occidental, located in Mindanao, has had the highest number of fatalities, with 15 persons killed by drowning or rain-induced landslides.
Authorities were still looking for more than two dozen more persons who went missing after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides across the central and southern areas over the Christmas weekend.
The latest tragedy occurred on Wednesday in Mati City, Davao Oriental province, on Mindanao island, when a landslide buried four persons who were fishing. The body of a 62-year-old man was recovered and the search for his friends was still ongoing, according to Mati City police chief Ernesto Gregore.
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“There was a heavy downpour in the mountains. They were fishing in a river when the landslide occurred,” Gregore said. “Over the weekend, the weather deteriorated as the disaster-prone nation of 110 million people prepared for a long Christmas break”.
Rains that have driven tens of thousands of people into evacuation centres have damaged hundreds of dwellings and wiped off more than 5,000 hectares (12,400 acres) of crops, according to the national disaster agency.
This story was adapted from Channels TV.
