Over a dozen people have died in weather-related incidents linked to the enhanced southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones “Luis” and “Maymay,” according to the authorities, as a landslide in Baguio City left seven people dead and three (2 female, 1 male) others missing.

The PNP reported 15 deaths, 13 injuries, and six missing persons as of 6 a.m. Monday, based on figures presented by PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Allen Rae Co.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD), however, reported a lower casualty count, with 12 deaths, eight missing, and 11 injured as of 10 a.m. Monday. The agency said the figures were still being validated.

The Baguio landslide accounted for four of the reported deaths, after three houses were buried at Riverside in Purok 2, Guisad Surong, on Sunday.

Baguio City Police Office director Col. Ruel Tagel reported to Mayor Benjamin Magalong that 13 people were affected by the landslide.

Seven people had been retrieved from the debris as of Monday morning. Three survived and were brought to a hospital for medical evaluation, while four were declared dead.

The survivors included a 77-year-old pastor and a 27-year-old man and a woman.

Those who died were a 56-year-old man, a 17-year-old female student, a nine-year-old female student, and a 9-year-old male student. Six people remain missing, including two children aged 3 and 8.

Search, rescue and retrieval operations continued Monday despite the intermittent rain.

Casualties across regions

According to the PNP, six deaths were recorded in the Cordillera Administrative Region, including the four in Baguio City and two in La Trinidad, Benguet, reportedly due to landslides or rockslides.

Seven deaths were reported in Calabarzon, including three in Batangas and four in Rizal. One death was recorded in La Union and another in Alaminos, Pangasinan.

The PNP also reported 11 injured in the Cordillera region and two in Calabarzon, while five people remained missing in the Cordillera and one in Calabarzon.

OCD Assistant Secretary Laurence Mina said 384,520 families, or about 1.31 million people, were affected by the weather disturbances.

Of these, 16,130 families, or 58,650 individuals, were staying in 624 evacuation centers, while another 11,360 families, or 39,290 individuals, were receiving assistance outside evacuation centers.

The OCD reported 367 damaged houses, including 27 totally damaged and 340 partially damaged, across several regions.

Mina said food and non-food items worth P1.67 million were being distributed in the Cordillera region. At the same time, search and rescue operations continued with personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard and Department of Public Works and Highways.

The government has so far provided P42.87 million in assistance to affected families through the OCD, Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units and other partners.

Rainfall records

Pagasa Administrator Dr. Nathaniel Servando said heavy rains would continue across large parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, on Monday but were expected to gradually ease beginning Tuesday.

Baguio City recorded 1,413 millimeters of rain from 1 to 9 August, compared to its normal rainfall of 963 millimeters for the entire month of August.

“It is almost one and a half months’ worth of rain that fell in just nine days,” Servando said.

Zambales and Pangasinan also recorded nearly a month’s worth of rainfall during the same period.

At the Iba, Zambales station, Pagasa recorded 957 millimeters of rain from 1 to 9 August, compared with the normal August rainfall of 929 millimeters — about 103 percent of the monthly average in just nine days.

“We expect that starting tomorrow (Tuesday), the rains will decrease, and our weather will gradually improve until Wednesday,” Servando said.

Millions affected

The severe weather also disrupted education nationwide, with the Department of Education reporting that 6,517,252 learners, 288,967 personnel, and 10,029 public schools were affected by in-person class suspensions as of 8 a.m. Monday.

DepEd’s rapid damage assessment recorded 3,924 damaged classrooms, including 751 totally damaged, 818 with major damage, and 2,355 with minor damage.

The department said it was processing P20.418 million for cleanup and clearing operations in 722 affected schools and P115.395 million for minor repairs to 2,355 classrooms.

DepEd also reported that 52 schools were being used as evacuation centers, with 239 classrooms sheltering 1,057 families.

As search teams continued looking for those still missing in Baguio, government agencies warned residents in flood and landslide-prone areas to remain alert as rains persisted across parts of Luzon.