The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 67 on Wednesday with scores missing and feared dead, officials said, as rescuers dug up more bodies with bare hands and backhoes in crushed villages, IgbereTV reports
Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi — the strongest to hit the archipelago this year — were in the central province of Leyte, where a series of landslides devastated communities.
Thirteen people died and around 150 were missing in the coastal village of Pilar, which is part of Abuyog municipality, after a torrent of mud and earth pushed houses into the sea and buried most of the settlement, Abuyog Mayor Lemuel Traya said.
“I have to be honest, we are no longer expecting survivors,” Traya told AFP, adding that emergency personnel were now focused on the difficult task of retrieving bodies.
About 250 people were in evacuation centres after being rescued by boat after roads were cut by landslides, he said.
A number of villagers were also in hospital
