MANILA— At least 24 people have been killed in landslides and flooding across central and southern Philippines, authorities said on Monday (Apr 11), after a storm dumped heavy rain and disrupted travel ahead of the Easter holidays.
More than 13,000 people fled to emergency shelters as tropical storm Megi pounded the disaster-prone region on Sunday, the national disaster agency said, flooding houses, inundating fields, cutting off roads and knocking out power.
Megi is the first storm to hit the archipelago this year, which sees around 20 such storms annually.
The central province of Leyte was hardest hit, with landslides leaving 21 people dead in four villages, Baybay City disaster officer Rhyse Austero told AFP.
Another three people were killed on the main southern island of Mindanao, the national disaster agency said earlier.
Photos posted on Facebook and verified by AFP show several houses in Bunga, one of Leyte province’s affected villages, buried in mud up to the rooftops.
Tropical storm Megi is expected to weaken to 45km per hour and move back out over sea on Tuesday, the state weather bureau said.
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