Devastating Landslides and Floods Hit the Philippines

Torrential rains have caused significant devastation in the southeastern Philippines, triggering two landslides that led to seven deaths and displacing more than 3,000 villagers, officials reported on Friday.

In the coastal city of Mati, Davao Oriental province, a boulder-laden landslide buried a house, resulting in the deaths of a couple and their two daughters, authorities confirmed. Emergency responders used heavy machinery to recover the bodies, according to Ednar Dayanghirang, regional director of the Office of Civil Defence.

In the gold-mining town of Monkayo, Davao de Oro province, three more people were found dead after their home was engulfed by a landslide late Thursday, Dayanghirang added. The adverse weather conditions, which affected nearly 10,000 people, have been attributed to cold winds meeting warm air from the Pacific ahead of the regular typhoon season.