Landslide in southern Philippines kills seven, 10 more missing

[January 18, 2024]  MANILA (Reuters) - Seven people, including five children, were killed after a landslide buried a house following days of heavy rains in southern Davao de Oro province, a disaster official said on Thursday.  

Two people were injured and approximately 10 were missing, Ednar Dayanghirang, director of the regional civil defence agency, told DZRH radio.

Authorities suspended search and rescue operations due to continuing rains in a residential area for small-scale miners, he said.

Heavy rains and floods have affected more than 187,000 people in four provinces in the Davao region, data from the national disaster agency show.

Landslides and floods are frequent in the Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands that is hit by about 20 tropical storms annually.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)

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