At least 10 others are injured, while it is unclear how many remain missing

MANILA, Philippines – The death toll from the huge landslide that hit Naga City, Cebu, rose to 49 on Monday, September 24.

In an update sent to media on Monday morning, the Naga City Police Station also said at least 10 others were injured.

It is unclear how many remain missing. Search and rescue operations continue.

The landslide had buried around 20 houses in Barangay Tinaan and 4 houses in Barangay Naalad last Thursday, September 20. It occurred after days of heavy rain. (READ: Naga, Cebu landslide: Did authorities ignore signs of danger?)

Nearly 900 families also had to evacuate, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The area where the landslide struck is near a quarrying site. Following the deadly incident, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu suspended quarrying in the regions of Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, and Caraga.

The landslide in Naga City came just 5 days after the massive landslide in the mining town of Itogon, Benguet, which was triggered by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut). The landslide in Itogon left at least 42 people dead. – Rappler.com </s> Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for residents believed to be trapped in their homes

MANILA, Philippines – The number of people killed in the massive landslide that hit Naga City, Cebu, rose to 42 on Sunday, September 23.

The Naga City Police Station provided the latest death toll in an update sent to media on Sunday morning.

Police also said at least 9 others were injured, while it is unclear how many remain missing.

The landslide had buried around 20 houses in Barangay Tinaan and 4 houses in Barangay Naalad last Thursday, September 20. It occurred after days of heavy rain. (READ: Naga, Cebu landslide: Did authorities ignore signs of danger?)

Search and rescue operations are still ongoing for residents believed to be trapped in their homes.

Nearly 900 families also had to evacuate, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The area where the landslide struck is near a quarrying site. Following the deadly incident, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu suspended quarrying in the regions of Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao, and Caraga.

The landslide in Naga City came just 5 days after the massive landslide in the mining town of Itogon, Benguet, which was triggered by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut). The landslide in Itogon left at least 41 people dead. – Rappler.com </s> Seven are confirmed dead while 2 others are missing due to nonstop rains and heavy flooding in parts of Cebu.Six of the casualties were from Carmen, Cebu where 73 houses were washed out due to nonstop rains.According to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), the casualties were identified as Rowena Acencion, 38; Joyed Acencion, 12; Ivan Acencion, 10; Acena Laping, 55; Bens Ayan Laping, 2; and Nicholas Punggutan, 60.The other casualty meanwhile was from Danao City, Cebu and was identified as Benyang Manulat.The PDRRMO however has yet to identify the 2 missing persons. </s> Watch more in iWant or TFC.tv

MANILA - The disaster office in Naga City, Cebu said Tuesday that it was considering ending the search for bodies in a landslide that buried a residential area there nearly 2 weeks ago.

The landslide struck Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tinaan after heavy rains on September 20, burying some 60 houses near a quarry site.

Authorities have recovered 77 fatalities while 8 others remain missing, said Baltazar Tribunalo, head of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office (PDRRMO).

Searchers, however, have not pulled out any bodies in the last 2 days, he told radio DZMM.

If the search continues to yield no results, the PDRRMO may urge the local government to suspend the operation on Wednesday or Thursday, said Tribunalo.

He also noted that the last recovered fatalities were in an advanced state of decomposition, which may pose a health hazard for rescuers.

"Sana hindi ito umulan para at least, for the last 24 or 30 hours, makakuha pa tayo ng bangkay," he said.

(We hope that it doesn't so that for the last 24 to 30 hours of the search, we could recover more bodies.)

Local officials are also searching for a permanent relocation site for hundreds of residents from the landslide-hit areas, Tribunalo added.

Cebu was not directly hit last month by typhoon Ompong, but it has been pounded by heavy monsoon rain for days.



In the northern province of Itogon, Benguet, landslides unleashed by Ompong killed at least 91 people, said Senior Supt. Lyndon Mencio, head of the provincial police.

Among the worst-hit areas there is Barangay Ucab, where mounds of soil and rock buried the bunkhouse and chapel of dozens of miners and their families.

"Dalawang beses na pong napaikutan ng mga equipment doon, talagang wala na pong mahanap kaya temporarily ini-halt [ang paghuhukay]," Mencio said in a separate DZMM interview, adding that only 1 person remains missing from the Ucab landslide.

(Our heavy equipment have combed the area twice, but we have not found any additional bodies so we've temporarily halted the search.)



Ompong left at least 95 people killed across Luzon and destroyed some P26.7 billion worth of crops and livestock, authorities earlier said. </s> NAGA, Philippines (AP) — A massive landslide buried dozens of homes near a central Philippine mountain Thursday, killing at least 21 people and sending rescuers scrambling to find survivors after some sent text messages pleading…

NAGA, Philippines (AP) — A massive landslide buried dozens of homes near a central Philippine mountain Thursday, killing at least 21 people and sending rescuers scrambling to find survivors after some sent text messages pleading for help.

The slide surged down on about 30 houses in two rural villages after daybreak in Naga city in Cebu province, city police chief Roderick Gonzales said by telephone as he helped supervise the search and rescue. Seven injured villagers were rescued from the huge mound of earth and debris.

Some victims managed to send messages after the landslide hit, Gonzales said, adding that elderly women and a child were among the dead.

Nimrod Parba, a 26-year-old resident, said a relative trapped in a house beneath the rubble managed to call Thursday morning and begged to be rescued. The calls stopped, however, and the relative could not be reached hours later, Parba said.

Naga city Mayor Kristine Vanessa Chiong said at least 64 people remained missing.

“We’re really hoping we can still recover them alive,” she said.

The landslide hit while several northern Philippine provinces are still dealing with deaths and widespread damage wrought by Typhoon Mangkhut, which pummeled the agricultural region Saturday and left at least 88 people dead and more than 60 missing. A massive search is still underway for dozens of people feared dead after landslides in the gold-mining town of Itogon in the north.

Cebu province was not directly hit by Mangkhut but the massive typhoon intensified monsoon rains across a large part of the archipelago, including the central region where Naga city lies about 570 kilometers (355 miles) southeast of Manila.

Rescuers were treading carefully in small groups on the unstable ground to avoid further casualties.

“We’re running out of time. The ground in the area is still vibrating. We’re striking a balance between intensifying our rescue efforts and ensuring the safety of our rescuers,” Naga city Councilor Carmelino Cruz said by phone.

Cristita Villarba, a 53-year-old resident, said her husband and son were preparing to leave for work when the ground shook and they were overwhelmed by a roar.

“It was like an earthquake and there was this thundering, loud banging sound. All of us ran out,” Villarba said, adding that she, her husband and three children were shocked but unhurt.

Outside, she saw the house of her older brother, Lauro, and his family buried in the landslide.

“Many of our neighbors were crying and screaming for help. Some wanted to help those who got hit but there was too much earth covering the houses, including my brother’s,” she said.

Nearly 20 people lived in her brother’s home, mostly his family and grandchildren, she said.

Villarba said she had felt sorry a few days earlier for the landslide victims in the country’s north.

“I had no idea we would be the next,” she said.

Elsewhere in the landslide-hit community, a father and his young daughter were found dead in each other’s embrace in a house, volunteer rescuer Vic Santillan said.

It’s not clear what set off the landslide, but some residents blamed limestone quarries, which they suspect may have caused cracks in the mountainside facing their villages. Villarba said a light rain stopped when the landslide hit and there was no rain on Wednesday.

The nearest quarry was abandoned about a year ago, but another government-authorized quarry is still being operated not far away, and villagers also profit from the limestone business, said Angeline Templo, an assistant to the mayor.

The Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. It is lashed by about 20 storms each year and is located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” that is vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Poverty has forced many to live on or near volcanoes, steep mountains and storm-vulnerable coasts, often leading to disasters.

Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> Fifty-six people have been killed in landslides and floods in the eastern Philippines and 11 are still missing.

Fifty of the victims were killed in five provinces in the eastern region of Bicol, which bore the brunt of heavy rains brought by a tropical depression, authorities say.

Most victims died in landslides, including a family of three asleep when their house was buried in Legazpi City, 336 kilometres southeast of Manila, police said on Sunday.

Six people were drowned or were buried in landslides in the two provinces in the Eastern Visayas region, police said.

READ MORE:

* Family of four among the 28 dead after Typhoon Mangkhut lashes the Philippines

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* Storm in southern Philippines leaves at least 75 dead

More than 22,000 people have been displaced in six provinces.

A tropical depression weakened into a low pressure area after making landfall over the province of Eastern Smar on Saturday, and brought in heavy rains in the days before. </s> The September 20 landslide, which was triggered by days of heavy rain, also injures at least 10 people

MANILA, Philippines – The huge landslide in Naga City, Cebu, has left at least 56 dead, the police said on Tuesday, September 25, or 5 days after the disaster.

In its latest update on Tuesday, the Naga City Police Station said the figure rose from the 49 deaths reported on Monday, September 24. At least 10 injured persons have been rescued in the ongoing operation.

The police said the September 20 landslide, which was triggered by days of heavy rain, "completely covered" more or less 24 houses in barangays Tinaan and Naalad in Naga City.

According to Naga City Mayor Kristine Chiong, the houses were occupied by the employees of quarrying company Apo Land and Quarry Corporation (ALQC).

Following the landslide in Naga, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on Friday, September 21, suspended quarry operations in Central Visayas and 7 other regions pending their safety assessment.

The ALQC on Saturday, September 22, said it intends to fully comply with the environment department's cease and desist order.

The landslide in Naga City came just 5 days after the massive landslide in the mining town of Itogon, Benguet, which was triggered by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut). The landslide in Itogon left at least 50 people dead. – Rappler.com

Read more stories from Rappler's coverage of the Naga, Cebu landslide:
• Twin tragedies: How Itogon and Naga landslides are alike </s> A mountain slope collapsed in the province of Benguet sparking the landslide trapping 40 people who are believed to be local gold miners.

Rescuers raced to save lives but it is feared that the death toll could even rise.

Police Superintendent Pelita Tacio said rescuers were unable to save one man due to mud and rocks blocking accesss.

It is the latest incident caused by the typhoon which has already killed at least 29 people in the Philippines with its winds of 130mph. </s> Rescuers are still searching for two more missing persons in Carmen, where 73 houses were washed out due to nonstop rains

MANILA, Philippines – Following heavy rains brought by Tropical Depression Crising, at least 7 people were killed in heavy floods in various towns in northern Cebu on Sunday, April 16.

According to reports, 6 of the casualties were from Carmen, Cebu. They were identified as Nicholas Punggutan, 60; Acena Laping, 55; Rowena Acencion, 38; Joyed Acencion, 12; Ivan Acencion, 10; and Bens Ayan Laping, 2.

The other casualty was from Danao City, Cebu and was identified as Benyang Manulat.

Rescuers are still searching for two more missing persons in Carmen, where at least 73 houses were reportedly washed out due to nonstop rains.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding also hit 19 barangays of Cebu City, according to Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management chief Nagiel Bañacia.

"We deployed our quick response teams especially to areas we identified as flood-prone," Bañacia told Rappler in a phone interview.

Authorities evacuated 40 families in Barangay Talamban and 20 families in Barangay Kinasang-an in Cebu City. The evacuees were also provided with food packs.

Tropical Depression Crising weakened into a low pressure area (LPA) on Saturday evening, April 15, after making landfall in Hernani, Eastern Samar at 6:30 pm that day.

There are no more areas under tropical cyclone warning signals. PAGASA warned, however, that light to moderate rain is still expected in the Visayas, and in the regions of Bicol and Caraga. – with a report from Raisa Serafica / Rappler.com
The death toll of the landslide in Cebu, Philippines rise to 77. Eight others are still missing and presumed dead.