The death toll from landslides and floods caused by the first tropical storm that hit the Philippines this year has reached 63, officials said on Wednesday.
Forty-eight fatalities were recovered from the city of Baybay in Leyte province, 599 kilometres South-East of Manila, where 27 were still reported missing, the city disaster agency said.
Six people were also killed in landslides in nearby Abuyog town, while seven people drowned in floods in the provinces of Negros Oriental, Davao Oriental, Davao De Oro and Samar, the national disaster agency said.
In the central province of Cebu, two men were killed in separate landslides, police said.
More than 240 people were injured in the landslides and floods, while one more person was reported missing in Davao De Oro province, the agency and local officials said.
Tropical storm Megi slammed into the Philippines’ eastern coast on Sunday, bringing torrential rains.
It has since weakened to a low but was moving slowly so the rains have not stopped, the weather bureau said.
The landslides in Baybay affected even areas considered to be safe, said Mark Timbal, a spokesman for the national disaster agency.
