‘Katrina’ leaves 6 dead

Landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed at least six people and destroyed eight villages in Mindanao, displacing thousands of residents, rescuers said yesterday.

A new tropical storm sighted east of Luzon is expected to intensify the monsoon rains over the next two days, weather forecasters said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said tropical storm "Katrina" intensified as it moved east-northeast away from the country.

The worst-hit areas were in Mindanao where flash floods, mudslides and unusually high tides destroyed bridges, villages and farmland in three provinces.

Just outside the town of Aurora in Zamboanga del Sur, a bus with 38 people was washed into a ravine by floodwaters but no one was killed, according to one report.

Mayor Enrique Cabahug said the passengers climbed to safety with only seven people being injured. "They were very lucky," he said.

However, another report said three people were killed and seven others injured when two passenger buses, both owned by Rural Transit Inc., were swept away by a landslide as the vehicles were traversing a narrow mountain road in Barangay Anonang in Aurora at 6 p.m. Sunday.

The bus with body number 1546, in which the three fatalities were riding, was buried by mud. The other bus fell a few meters from the side of the road.

The report identified the fatalities as Delma Alam, reportedly a postmaster from Tungawan town in Zamboanga Sibugay; Felicitas Guyab and a still unidentified person whose gender was not indicated in the report.

Rescue teams from Iligan City and nearby cities and provinces immediately rushed to Anonang to assist in the rescue effort and clear the mountain road of debris using heavy equipment sent by the Aurora municipal government and the provincial government.

Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Aurora Cerilles said seven municipalities and the provincial capital Pagadian had been hit by mudslides, flash floods and sudden rise of tides in coastal villages.

She said at least six people were killed when mudslides swept through villages.

"So far we have recovered five bodies and are looking for a child," Cerilles said.

One pregnant woman was killed when the Roman Catholic chapel in which she had sought shelter with her family was swept away by mud.

Boulders and loose earth rolled down the mountainside along a 10-kilometer stretch of coastal highway between Kapatagan town in Lanao del Norte province and Pagadian on the Moro Gulf side of the island, provincial disaster relief officials said.

The landslides cut off parts of the highway and residents fled to a government shelter in Kapatagan, they added.

Water was so deep in some neighborhoods that residents were forced to climb on top of their shanties, where they waited for hours before disaster response teams plucked them to safety, officials said.

At least five people drowned or were killed in landslides in Kapatagan, said regional police commander Chief Superintendent Florante Baguio.

The southern and central Philippines have been hit by a spate of bad weather this month, with huge waves inundating coastal areas, destroying more than 1,200 homes.

Pagasa said Katrina was monitored 840 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan packing maximum center winds of 65 kilometers per hour. Katrina was moving east northeast at 17 kph.

Pagasa said while Katrina would not directly affect any part of the country, it would intensify the southwest monsoon that brings rain over western Visayas and the western sections of central and southern Luzon.

Katrina was forecast to be 1,160 kilometers east northeast of Cagayan this morning.

"Residents in these areas are advised to take all the necessary precautions against possible flash floods, landslides and monsoon surge," Pagasa said.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 storms and typhoons a year. — Lino de la Cruz, Sheila Crisostomo, AFP, AP