BATANGAS, Philippines – Fourteen people are confirmed dead and six are missing following a landslide in Purok B, Barangay Sampaloc in Talisay, Batangas, police confirmed on Friday, October 25.
Patrolwoman Nenette Landicho of the Talisay Police station confirmed that 12 of the 14 victims are children.
The landslide occurred on Thursday, October 24, due to torrential rains in Batangas brought about by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.
In a Facebook post, Talisay Mayor Nestor Natanauan said: “Sa pagdaan ng bagyong Kristine, lubos na naapektuhan ang bayan ng Talisay. Sa loob ng dalawang araw na pananalasa nito, nagkaroon ng pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa sa ilang barangay. Sa kasalukuyan, patuloy ang ating pagmomonitor sa mga indibidwal at pamilyang naapektuhan. Gayundin ang mga ginagawang paghuhukay upang makita ang mga nawawala pang indibidwal at mga bahay na natabunan.”
(Talisay was very much affected by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. In its two-day onslaught, there was flooding and landslides in several barangays. At present, we are monitoring the affected individuals and families, as well as the ongoing operations for the missing persons and the homes that got buried in the landslide.)
As of posting time, 311 families or 1,457 individuals are staying in evacuation centers around Talisay.
In the entire province of Batangas, over 5,000 families or 17,700 individuals were in 266 evacuation centers and another 1,402 families were staying outside evacuation centers.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported that 133 houses were totally damaged while 567 were partially damaged.
Aside from the 14 casualties in Talisay, 14 others in the province were reported dead, 10 were missing and 3 injured.
In a text message, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said that they will be declaring a state of calamity within the day. – Rappler.com