Fifteen people were missing after rivers in Davao City overflowed and flooded residential areas, said army spokesman Lt. Col. Leopoldo Galon.
“Our soldiers are finding more bodies as we helped clean up the flood-hit areas,” Galon told reporters, saying 15 of the drowning victims were children. “Many people were swept away while sleeping because the floodwaters rose quickly.”
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said floodwaters rose up to 10 feet deep (3 meters) in just three hours of non-stop rain late on Tuesday night. About 10,000 families had moved to higher grounds.
The flood has subsided on Wednesday and emergency workers found bodies near a river bank,
Mayor Sara Duterte told reporters it was the first time the city had been hit by such flooding.
“The flash flood was like a thief in the night, it was gone in a few hours and we now have a sunny weather,” she said.
