Philippines storms kill 19, force nearly 95,000 into evacuation centres VIDEO

The death toll from the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon and Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay in the Philippines has risen to 19, the Office of Civil Defence (OCD) said on Tuesday, August 11.

The latest fatalities included five people whose bodies were recovered following a landslide in Barangay Guisad Surong in Baguio City on Sunday, bringing the death toll from that incident to nine. Separate landslides in La Trinidad and Atok, both in Benguet province, previously killed two cooks and one other person, respectively.

A further death from drowning was recorded in Binangonan, Rizal. Earlier, two people died in a landslide in Rodriguez, Rizal, while another person was killed in Antipolo after being struck by a falling tree.

In Batangas, three people have died — one each in Batangas City, Lipa City and Santa Teresita — from drowning, electrocution and a landslide, respectively.

The number of injured rose to 15, with Benguet accounting for 12 cases: eight in Baguio, two in La Trinidad, and one each in Kapangan and Atok. The injuries were linked to landslides and a vehicular accident.

One person was injured by a landslide in Suyo, Ilocos Sur; another was hurt by strong currents in Rodriguez, Rizal; and a third was injured in a vehicular accident in Naic, Cavite.

Four people remain missing, according to the OCD. Two are missing in Baguio and one in Atok, Benguet, following separate landslides, while another person is missing in Batangas.

The severe weather has affected 2,270,862 people from 646,676 families across 10 regions: the Cordillera Administrative Region, National Capital Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Of those affected, 94,997 people from 26,174 families have been displaced to 919 active evacuation centers.

OCD spokesperson Junie Castillo urged residents to remain vigilant, as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) expects rainfall to return by the weekend.

By Tamilla Hasanova