24 dead in Philippines landslides, flooding
Houses buried under mud after a landslide hit the village of Bunga, in Baybay town, Southern Leyte province, southern Philippines, following heavy rains brough about by Tropical storm Agaton.
Manila,
At least 24 people have been killed in landslides and flooding across central and southern Philippines, authorities said Monday, after a storm dumped heavy rain and disrupted travel ahead of the Easter holidays.
More than 13,000 people fled to emergency shelters as the tropical storm pounded the disaster-prone region Sunday, the national disaster agency said, flooding houses, inundating fields, cutting off roads and knocking out power.
The central province of Leyte was hardest hit, with landslides leaving 21 people dead in four villages, Baybay City disaster officer Rhyse Austero told AFP.
Another three people were killed on the main southern island of Mindanao, the national disaster agency said earlier.
Photos posted on Facebook and verified by AFP show several houses in Bunga, one of Leyte province's affected villages, buried in mud up to the rooftops.
