Death toll rises as rockslide kills 2 siblings in Rizal
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Two men were killed while another survived after a landslide buried part of a makeshift eatery in La Trinidad, Benguet on Thursday, as thousands remained displaced by the combined effects of Tropical Storm Maymay, Typhoon Luis, and the southwest monsoon (habagat).
Police Col. Dionisio Bonoy, chief of the Benguet Provincial Police Office, said the landslide struck JML Bulalohan in Barangay Shilan at around 8 a.m., burying part of the roadside eatery where the victims were working.
Jerry Agbuya, 66, survived and was rushed to the Benguet General Hospital, while Dino Agbuya and Lemar Ciano, 31, were killed.
According to witness Lea Gawiden Ciano, the victims were preparing food when one of the cooks shouted for help moments before the mountainside collapsed.
Bonoy said the saturated slope gave way despite the presence of a retaining wall.
"Slope ng bundok 'yan, tapos hinukay. May retaining wall siya, pero hindi na kinaya ng dami ng lupa. Mud 'yan, at kapag natabunan ka ng putik, wala ka nang mahihingahan," he said.
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) confirmed two additional fatalities in Rodriguez, Rizal, where siblings were killed after a rockslide struck their home at around 12 p.m. Wednesday.
The agency said the deaths are still being validated to determine whether they were directly caused by the combined effects of the weather disturbances and have yet to be included in its official situation reports.
OCD Deputy Spokesperson Diego Agustin Mariano said the impact of the weather systems has extended far beyond the projected path of the storms.
"Hindi lang siya naka-sentro sa typhoon path. Naghahatak ito ng hanging habagat na nagdadala rin ng ulan sa ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas. Kaya kahit malayo ang Rizal sa Northern at Central Luzon, nakaranas pa rin ito ng malakas na ulan na nagdulot ng rockslide," Mariano said.
He added that the effects of the weather systems have reached as far as Region 9, making disaster response more challenging.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 2,215 families, or 6,929 individuals, have been displaced by the combined effects of Typhoon Luis, Tropical Storm Maymay, and the southwest monsoon.
The displaced residents are staying in 39 evacuation centers after flooding affected 83 areas in the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The OCD also reported that 80,633 individuals, or 23,946 families, have been affected across the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Apart from the Benguet landslide victims, the OCD has yet to officially record any confirmed weather-related deaths, injuries or missing persons in its latest situation report, pending validation of the Rizal incident.
Authorities also reported 12 partially damaged houses, 83 flooded areas, and P1.38 million worth of government assistance distributed to affected communities.
