At least ten people died and two remain missing after heavy rains and floods hit the eastern and southern Philippines since Monday (9), the country’s Center for Natural Disaster Prevention said today.
In the most recent update of the figures, the center reported that more than 8,000 people had to leave their homes to take shelter in different locations.
Heavy rains and flooding affected more than 430,000 people in various parts of the Philippines.
The most affected areas are the island of Samar, where two people died, and the island of Mindanao, in the east and south of the archipelago, where the rains caused floods and landslides.
The Philippine meteorological agency said today that the rains are expected to continue through the weekend in Mindanao and much of the central Visayas region, but it is unlikely to develop into a tropical storm.
Hit by up to 20 typhoons and tropical cyclones each year, the Philippines is among the nations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Experts from international agencies consider the poor state of infrastructure and precarious housing as one of the main factors for the high number of deaths in natural disasters registered in the country.
During the Christmas holidays, floods and landslides in the Philippines left 49 dead, drove 51,400 people from their homes and affected a total of around 500,000 Filipinos.
Damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at about $25 million, according to the Center for Natural Disaster Prevention.
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