BENGUET — Days of persistent monsoon rains have triggered severe flooding, road closures and deadly landslides across Northern and Central Luzon, leaving four people dead, six missing and hundreds displaced as of Monday.

The most severe incident occurred in Purok 2, Barangay Guisad Surong in Baguio City, where a hillside collapse destroyed three houses and buried 13 residents.

Emergency responders extracted seven individuals from the debris, including three survivors who were hospitalized — a 77-year-old pastor and a 27-year-old man and woman.

Four victims were retrieved and declared dead — a 56-year-old man, a 17-year-old female student, and two nine-year-old students, one female and one male.

Search-and-retrieval operations continue for six missing residents, with approximately 150 responders using crevice cameras and life detectors on hazardous terrain.

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong reported 23 soil erosion incidents and collapsed retaining structures citywide, affecting 75 families comprising 351 individuals.

Meantime, at least 40 families remain in local evacuation centers.

Citing assessments from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Magalong noted that roughly 85 percent of Baguio City is classified as hazard-prone, with only 2 to 3 percent considered geologically stable.

Authorities are closely monitoring additional high-risk areas in Barangays Irisan, Asin and San Luis.

In other developments, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and local disaster offices reported major road closures and traffic restrictions across Benguet province due to road cuts, soil collapses and mudflows.

Complete closures are in effect along the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road at Barangay Beckel in La Trinidad, the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes Road at Tabio in Mankayan, the Tawang-Ambiong Road, and the Baguio-Itogon Road at Sitio Goldfield in Barangay Poblacion, Itogon.

Kennon Road remains restricted to local residents due to heavy rainfall and rockslides in Tuba, leaving Marcos Highway (Ben Palispis-Jose Aspiras Highway) as the primary open alternate route to Baguio City.

Naguilian Road, on the other hand, remains passable under caution despite localized flooding in Barangay Irisan and ongoing clearing in Sablan.

Partial, single-lane traffic access is in place along Halsema Highway at KM 48 and KM 49 in Atok, the Governor Bado Dangwa National Road, and the Congressman Andres Acop Cosalan Road.

In Pampanga, heavy inundation submerged the historic Sunken Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Barangay Cabetican, Bacolor, under chest-deep water, according to Mayor Eduardo Diman Datu.

Rising floodwaters forced Pampanga State Agricultural University to suspend classes, leaving numerous students stranded in off-campus housing.

The University Student Council and university management launched emergency relief operations to distribute free meals to stranded students.

Municipal authorities suspended face-to-face classes at all levels in Bacolor, Arayat, San Simon, Macabebe, San Fernando, Mexico, Sto. Tomas, Candaba, Santa Ana, and Minalin.

Over at Abra province, the provincial government announced the suspension of all school classes and government work for Tuesday as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines activated and placed its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response units on standby under the National Capital Region Command.

Search, rescue and retrieval teams from the Philippine Army’s 33rd Mechanized Company, the Philippine Marine Corps’ 1st and 3rd Marine Battalions, and the Philippine Air Force’s 505th Search and Rescue Group have been positioned for immediate deployment to assist civil authorities.