Nearly 90 people died and more than 60 are missing after a tropical storm hit southern Philippines and triggered mudslides and flooding, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing the police and disaster officials.
The casualties were all on the main southern island of Mindanao, and most of them were hit on Friday. Reports said that mudslides had completely wiped out Dalama, a mountain village of about 2,000 people, and that rescue officials could only find tree stumps there.
“We are still trying to confirm reports of a farming village buried by a mudslide,” said Ryan Cabus, an official in Tubod town of Mindanao. He said power and communication lines to the area had been cut, which only made rescue efforts tougher.
Emergency workers, volunteers and other officials are being mobilised to search for survivors across Mindanao and to help restore power and communication lines.
Local weather agencies said Tropical Storm Tembin had sped west over the Sulu Sea and will move clear of the Philippines by Monday.
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