Manila, Dec 31 At least 68 people have been killed so far in landslides and floods which were triggered by heavy rains in Phillipines, authorities said on Monday.
The deaths were mostly due to landslides and drowning in the Bicol region and Eastern Visayas in central Philippines, according to the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in its latest report.
Fifty-seven of the deaths were reported from the Bicol region while 11 from the Eastern Visayas region, QNA reported. The agency said there are still 19 people missing in both region and the rescuers from the military, the police and other government agencies are now conducting search, rescue and retrieval operations in some areas in northern and central Philippines.
More than 130,000 people from 321 areas in the Philippines have been affected by landslides and widespread flood, according to the disaster agency.
Earlier on Sunday, the NDRRMC had said a total of 1,274 families or 4,906 persons were affected by a tropical depression that dumped rains since it entered the Philippine area of responsibility.
The agency also said that 78 areas were flooded in the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, while 59 areas experienced power outages in the southeast Asian country.
Philippines is hit annually by nearly 20 hurricanes, causing floods, landslides and other accidents. One of the strongest hurricanes hit the country in November 2013, killing more than 6,300 people and displacing more than 4 million others.
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