18-1-2024 (MANILA) A devastating landslide, triggered by days of incessant heavy rains in southern Davao de Oro province, has claimed the lives of seven individuals, including five children, according to statements from a disaster official on Thursday.
Ednar Dayanghirang, the director of the regional civil defence agency, reported that in addition to the fatalities, two people sustained injuries, and around 10 individuals remained unaccounted for in the aftermath of the landslide. Unfortunately, search and rescue operations had to be temporarily halted due to ongoing rains in a residential area inhabited by small-scale miners.
The catastrophe unfolded against the backdrop of heavy rains and floods affecting more than 187,000 people across four provinces in the Davao region, as indicated by data from the national disaster agency.
Landslides and floods are a recurrent menace in the Philippines, an archipelago comprising over 7,600 islands that experiences approximately 20 tropical storms annually.
BREAKING: 7 ang patay, 2 ang sugatan, at nasa 10 pa ang nawawala dahil sa landslide sa isang mining area sa Purok 20, Pag-asa, Barangay Mt. Diwata, Monkayo, Davao de Oro bandang 12 ng tanghali nitong Huwebes, Enero 18.
Ayon kay Jergrace Cabag, information officer ng LGU… pic.twitter.com/wnlDljKfZk
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 18, 2024
