13 killed as rains trigger floods, landslides in Philippines

At least 13 people have died in the northern Philippines after nine days of torrential rain triggered floods, landslides and accidents, with some areas receiving more than a month’s average rainfall, rescuers said Monday.

The relentless downpours, intensified by tropical storms, have forced the closure of schools and government offices across Luzon, the country’s main island, while several parts of Manila have been inundated.

Four people were killed in the mountain resort city of Baguio after a rain-soaked hillside collapsed onto several houses, city disaster official Charles Carame told AFP.

Rescuers were digging through the debris in search of at least six people who remained missing a day after the landslide.

State weather forecaster Dan Villamil said Baguio had received rainfall far above its normal monthly level. The city recorded 1,413.2 millimetres (56 inches) of rain between August 1 and 9, compared with its average August rainfall of 963.2 millimetres.

“This was the highest rainfall recorded in Baguio,” Villamil said, adding that the total was already 47 percent above the city’s typical rainfall for the entire month.

Parts of Metro Manila had also received rainfall equivalent to about 90 percent of the area’s normal August total, he said.

According to a civil defence office tally, landslides claimed six more lives elsewhere on Luzon. One person drowned, another was killed by a falling tree and another died from electrocution.

Heavy rain continued in parts of the region on Monday evening, although Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said floodwaters were beginning to recede.

“Our interventions are continuing, but we really need to fix the years and decades’ worth of faulty flood mitigation interventions,” Dizon told reporters.

His remarks came amid a major controversy over allegedly fraudulent flood-control projects that authorities say have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific cyclone belt and is among the countries most frequently affected by tropical storms and typhoons. The archipelago experiences an average of about 20 storms and typhoons each year, leaving millions of people living in vulnerable areas exposed to recurring disasters.

Scientists have warned that human-driven climate change is contributing to more frequent, prolonged and intense extreme weather events, increasing the risks posed by heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides.