Floods and landslides leave 4 dead, 3 missing in Philippines

A tail-end of a cold front produced heavy rain over Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao, Philippines over the weekend, killing 4 people and leaving 3 missing.

Three people in their 60s were killed in Lanao del Norte when flooding struck the towns of Pantar and Baloiu on Friday, January 12, 2018, officials said. Hadji Khalil Sultan of the Department of Public Works and Highways quoted neighbors of one elderly couple saying they tried to flee to higher ground when the floodwaters swept them away.

A woman was killed and three of her relatives are missing after a concrete fence collapsed and fell on their house in Tacloban City. Tacloban disaster reduction officer Edilbrando Bernadas said the nonstop rains on Saturday softened the soil and loosened the fence's foundation.

The fourth victim is currently unidentified man whose body was found on Mandulog River in Pantar.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding hit three cities and one town in Negros Occidental, forcing the evacuation of about 3 400 families in 17 barangay (villages) in Victorias City alone.

Negros Occidental disaster management program division head, Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, said that floods heavily affected 18 000 people in Victorias City.

One house was destroyed in Talisay City while a landslide briefly rendered a road in Silay City impassable.

Caelian said the heavy rains that hit the cities of Victorias, Talisay and Silay and EB Magalona town were triggered by the northeast monsoon and the tail-end of a cold front.

This region was still recovering from major flooding and landslides caused by Tropical Storm "Tembin" (Vinta in the Philippines). The storm hit the country on December 22, leaving at least 133 people in the province dead.

Featured image credit: NASA Aqua/MODIS. Acquired: January 13, 2018.