Rescue teams faced mud and rain on Tuesday to search for survivors of landslides that hit towns in the central Philippines, where the number of victims of tropical storm Megi rose to 42.
More than 17,000 people fled their homes when the storm attacked the Asian country in recent days, where it flooded houses, cut roads and caused blackouts.
The Death toll from the storm rose Tuesday to 42 lafter rescue teams found more bodies in villages devastated by landslides.
The previous death toll was 28, of which 22 were from Leyte province, one of the hardest hit, three from Negros Oriental and three more on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the national disaster agency.
“It’s supposed to be the dry season, but maybe climate change changed that,” said Marissa Miguel Cano, a spokeswoman for Baybay City, in Leyte, where several devastated villages are located.
Cano indicated that the search for survivors was suspended on Tuesday in that area after considering it “too dangerous” to operate at night.
Drone footage uploaded to Facebook and verified by AFP revealed a wide expanse of mud that came down from a hill and covered Bunga, an affected community.
Cano pointed out that the mountainous region with ccoconut, corn and rice crops were prone to landslides, although they are generally small and non-fatal.
Rescue efforts also focused on the neighboring town of Cantagnos, which according to an authority was hit by two avalanches.
Some residents managed escape or were pulled alive from the mud, although it is feared that many are still trapped.
The storm came four months after a super typhoon devastated much of the archipelago country, where killed over 400 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Scientists have warned that typhoons have strengthened faster as a result of climate change.
The Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to its impacts, It usually receives about 20 storms per year.
