Search for survivors in Philippine villages hit by landslides

Rescuers hampered by mud and rain yesterday used their bare hands and shovels to search for survivors of landslides that smashed into villages in the central Philippines, as the death toll from tropical storm Megi rose to 42.Tens of thousands fled their homes as the storm pummelled the disaster-prone region in recent days, dumping heavy rain that flooded houses, severed roads and knocked out power.At least 36 people died and 27 were missing after landslides slammed into multiple villages around Baybay City in Leyte province — the hardest hit by the storm — local authorities said. Just over 100 people were injured.Three people were also killed in the central province of Negros Oriental and three on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the national disaster agency. The death toll is expected to rise.Rescue efforts continued under the cover of nightfall yesterday in Leyte province’s Pilar village, after an avalanche of mud and earth pushed most of the houses of about 400 residents into the sea.“The initial estimate is that 80% of the houses were washed out,” Reinz Corbeza, a civil defence official of Abuyog municipality — which includes Pilar — said.He added that about 50 people had survived or been rescued by boat after roads to Pilar were cut off by landslides.Most of the confirmed deaths in Leyte were in the mountainous village of Mailhi, near Baybay City, where 14 bodies were found after a “mudflash” buried homes, army captain Kaharudin Cadil said.“It’s supposed to be the dry season but maybe climate change has upended that,” said Marissa Miguel Cano, public information officer for Baybay City.