Deaths from Luzon landslides, floods exceed 100

At least 102 people died while hundreds more remain missing due to several landslides and floods in Luzon triggered by tropical cyclone "Pepeng." Ninety-five of the fatalities were from the Cordillera Administrative Region; four were from Pangasinan province; two from Camarines Sur; and one from Nueva Ecija. The information came from the regional police of the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Benguet police, and the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), and provincial governments. 75 in Benguet "So far, 75 na ang patay sa list namin, 34 injured and 36 missing sa Benguet (So far, 75 have died based on our list, while 34 are injured and 36 are missing in Benguet)," said Senior Superintendent Loreto Espineli, Benguet provincial police. Espineli said the hardest hit town in Benguet was La Trinidad, where 41 people were killed from four villages. In the town's Puguis village, 28 bodies were recovered after a portion of the mountain collapsed burying 34 houses in boulders and mud. In Poblacion village, nine people were likewise recovered in another landslide, while two bodies were retrieved from Balili and Bineng villages. In Mankayan town, four people were killed including two children who were buried inside their house that was hit by a landslide in Barangay Tabio Thursday night. Also on Thursday, six people were reported to have been buried in a landslide, including an infant, in Tublay town. A worker at the provincial engineering office also reportedly died in an accident while assisting in the clearing operations. In Bugias town, two people were also killed due to a landslide. Retrieval operations are on going for 150 other Benguet residents believed to have been buried beneath the collapsed soil in the affected areas. Espineli said the local government is currently attending to 560 people that had been transferred to five evacuation centers in Benguet. "Sa ngayon naman, wala pa naman uling reported landlside (As of Friday, no landslide has happened yet)," Espineli assured. For his part, Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said rescue operations were hindered by bad weather, especially last Friday. "Nahirapan sila, medyo malakas ang ulan (at) very foggy pa rito. Mahirap ang retrieval operations (Workers are having a hard time in retrieval operations because of the heavy rains and fog)," Fongwan said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said the landslides occurred without warning, amid heavy rains brought by Pepeng. 16 in Mt. Province and Baguio A separate radio report, meanwhile, quoted local authorities as saying that landlsides also killed five people in in Sitio Bulala, Kayan East village in Tadian, Mt. Province on Friday. In Baguio, at least 11 were killed, while 10 remain missing. The city, known as the country's summer capital and a top tourist destination, became isolated from neighboring provinces after two of the only three routes that lead motorists to the city were closed to traffic. Rocks and boulders that collapsed onto the Marcos Highway had rendered the road impassable to vehicles. Kennon Road, meanwhile, was also closed due to the threats of landslides. Fongwan said the local government was also focusing its effort on clearing major roads filled with boulders and mud. "We are also trying to open up main thoroughfares para rin sa kalakal mula sa Benguet papuntang Metro Manila (for the free movement of agricultural products from Benguet to Metro Manila)," Fongwan said. More deaths expected Fongwan said both evacuees and rescuers needed food, clothes, and medicines. He advised rescuers from traveling by air to reach Benguet. "Mayroon namang mala-landing-an pero very risky kasi maulap ngayon dito. Kailangan talaga mabuksan ang roads (Aircraft can land but it's very risky because it's foggy. Roads need to be reopened)," he said. Of the several landslides that happened in Benguet, only four people have so far been pulled out of the rubble alive. "Para doon sa ibang nawawala, may search and rescue na kami... [Pero] i-expect na madadagdadan ang patay dito," Espineli said. (For other missing, we are still conducting search and rescue operations, but let us expect that the death toll will still climb). In its 6 a.m. report, the NDCC has only recorded 25 people being killed during Pepeng’s onslaught: four in Pangasinan province, 12 in Benguet, and two in Camarines Sur in Bicol. Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija governor Aurelio Umali said a woman who had suffering from a heart ailment died in an evacuation center in the province. Central Luzon police regional director Leonilo dela Cruz said the landslides in Caranglan, Nueva Ecija "were so enormous" that it would take them three days to clean up the area, which remains impassable even to heavy vehicles. - with reports from Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV