Manila - At least 38 people were killed and more than 30,000 displaced in landslides and floods triggered by a tropical storm in the Philippines, officials said Tuesday.
Tropical storm Jangmi brought heavy rains as it swept through more than 20 provinces with maximum winds of 65 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 80 kph, the weather bureau said.
Twelve of the casualties came in a landslide that buried six houses and two vans in the Mercedes section of Catbalogan City in Samar Province, 525 kilometres south-east of Manila, said Mayor Stephanie Uy Tan, dpa reported.
We can still hear voices from one of the vans, so hopefully we can rescue some of them, she told a Manila radio station.
A family of five was also killed when a landslide buried four houses in the town of Tanauan in nearby Leyte province, according to superintendent Carlos Centinaje, a regional police spokesman.
Six others died from drowning and two were electrocuted in various towns in Leyte, he added.
Eight people, including four children, died when their houses were swept away by flash floods in the town of Rondo in Cebu province, said Olive Luces, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defence.
Two teenagers were killed from electrocution in nearby Bohol province, she added.
In the southern region of Mindanao, three people died from drowning, a bus accident and after being hit by a falling tree, police said.
A boat carrying six people, including a town police chief, went missing in rough seas Monday off Southern Leyte province, the coast guard said.
Search operations have been launched for the missing people, said coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo.
More than 31,500 people fled their homes in affected southern provinces amid massive floods, police and local officials said.
Jangmi was moving west at 11 kph and was expected to bring more rains over the central provinces for the rest of the week, including New Year's Day, the weather bureau said.
QNA
