Manila: Twenty seven were killed, including 20 missing, in five landslide incidents following days of rains in Bukidnon, southern Philippines, a disaster official said.
Seven people were killed in the new landslide incidents in Valencia City in Bukidnon on Tuesday morning, said Undersecretary Benito Ramos, head of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The victims included two children who were buried in Malayanan village, said Ramos, adding that 10 people were reported missing in the said incident.
In all the landslide incidents, the number of missing people could not yet be determined, said Ramos, adding that 20 were officially declared missing.
"Those who were buried were in their homes, the rest were aboard motorcycles with extended seat that were toppled by mud, while on the road," said Ramos, adding that Valencia City was isolated from the main Davao del Norte where an estimated 30 people died from flashfloods last week.
"The landslide in Valencia City buried parts of the highway. No one pass through the highway. Residen5ts and rescuers used pump-boats to cross Polangui River to reach neighboring San Fernando," said Carmelito Lupo, director of the regional Office of the Civil Defense.
"There were sketchy reports that a landslide has buried another village in Bukidnon," said Lupo.
Rescue operations ended in the afternoon due to bad weather.
Displaced residents were evacuated, but majority of them stayed with their relatives and not at the evacuation centres.
Continuous rains in the southern Philippines were due to inter-tropical convergence zone, not by typhoons, the weather station said.
Some 21 typhoons visit the Philippines from June to November.
