After heavy rainfall in the Philippines over Christmas, the death toll has risen to at least 25. Another 26 people, mostly fishermen, are still missing, the National Civil Protection announced on Wednesday. More than 390,000 people in 29 provinces of the Southeast Asian island nation are affected by the rain outside the monsoon season. More than 81,000 people would have had to seek refuge in evacuation centers.
The rain in the predominantly Catholic country, which also traditionally celebrates Christmas, started on Christmas Eve. This caused rivers to overflow their banks and landslides, especially in the south and east of the country. In the province of Misamis Occidental on the island of Mindanao in the south of the country alone, 13 people were killed. Most of the victims found so far have drowned, it said.
Rescuers used slightly better weather on Wednesday to step up efforts to provide food, water and other supplies to people in the flooded areas, a civil defense director said Wednesday. However, a low-pressure area will continue to bring rain, the weather bureau predicted. “Flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely,” the meteorologists warned.
Source: Krone
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