MANILA, 16 July 2006 — Relief operations and rehabilitation work in storm-ravaged areas in the northern Philippines shifted into high gear yesterday, and officials said more deaths were being reported from the field.
Nine people were also listed as missing after flooding and mudslides caused by Typhoon Florita (international code name: Bilis) earlier in the week.
Twenty other people were reported injured and were being treated in various hospitals, said the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
Among the latest reported deaths were six villagers from the Mountain Province. Five of the fatalities were members of the Tocnang family in Bauko town, who were killed when a landslide buried their house in the village of Tapapan, the OCD said. They were identified as siblings Destex, 13; Jason, 11; Joan, 9; Rosana, 7; and Frenalyn, 2. A sixth victim, Nawa Cawading, 57, was gardening in his plot in Lagawa village, also in Bauko, when he was buried in a landslide.
Two men who tried to cross a river in Flora town of Apayao province were also reported missing, presumably swept away by strong currents, said the OCD.
Landslides along the Halsema Highway has also disrupted the transport of vegetables from the vegetable-producing towns of Benguet province, causing prices of the commodity to increase drastically in Baguio, metropolitan Manila and nearby provinces.
The Department of Public Works and Highways announced that the Halsema Highway suffered a major damage from Florita.
It said there was a 50-meter road cut in in Amgaleyguey barangay of Buguias, while slides and mudflows hit the road in barangays Calasipan and Caliking in Atok. (With input from Agencies)
