At least 13 more killed as torrential rains continue

Manila: Torrential rains continued to hammer many areas in the Philippines, causing at least 13 deaths and 13 others missing in two landslides on Mindanao island, disaster officials said on Sunday.

The Office of Civil Defence said 13 people were confirmed dead and three others remained missing in week-long rains that hit the Agusan and Surigao provinces on the northern tip of Mindanao island.

Three persons were also injured in flood-related incidents.

The OCD said that as of last Saturday, the damage to roads, bridges, the seawall, public and private infrastructure in Agusan and Surigao areas cost 296 million pesos (Dh21 million), while damage to agricultural, fishery and irrigation structures and crops had reached almost 51 million pesos (Dh3.6 million).

Further south in Zamboanga del Sur province, the rains loosened mud and boulders that buried a row of thatch houses on Saturday.

Ten residents were listed as missing in the incident, said the military's Southern command spokesman Major Gamal Hayudini.