TORRENTIAL rains set off two landslides that killed seven people and floods that displaced more than 3,000 villagers in the Davao Region, officials said Friday.
A boulder-laden landslide buried a house and killed a couple and their two daughters on Friday in the coastal city of Mati in Davao Oriental province, disaster-response and provincial officials said.
Rescuers used earth-moving equipment to retrieve the bodies, according to Ednar Dayanghirang, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense.
In Monkayo, a gold-mining town in Davao de Oro province near Davao Oriental, the remains of three people were dug up after their house was buried late Thursday by a landslide, Dayanghirang and other officials said.
Nearly 10,000 were affected by the downpours in recent days, including more than 3,200 people who were forced to move to emergency shelters or with relatives, Dayanghirang said.
Several outlying provinces and towns were forced to cancel classes and work, he said.
The rains and thunderstorms occurred well ahead of the typhoon season, which usually starts in June, and were caused by cold wind interacting with warm and moist air from the Pacific, forecasters said.
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has placed its chapters in Mindanao on heightened alert after heavy rains triggered flooding and a landslide in parts of Surigao del Sur, Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental early Friday.
The PRC said its chairman and chief executive officer Richard Gordon ordered continuous monitoring and rapid response operations in affected areas.
In Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, floodwaters reached waist to chest level, prompting evacuation activities.
About 143 Red Cross volunteers assisted residents in moving to safer areas as water levels rose.
Flooding was also monitored in Nabunturan, Davao de Oro, where 14 individuals were evacuated as a precaution.
PRC chapters have set up welfare desks in evacuation centers to support affected families.
The Davao de Oro Chapter has started distributing hot meals at Basak and Magsaysay evacuation centers, while hygiene promotion sessions have reached 160 individuals in Magsaysay.
Emergency Medical Services, and search and rescue teams remained deployed in Purok 5, Barangay Rizal, Monkayo.
About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year.