MANILA: Officials say more than 30 people have been killed – most by landslides – in a slow-moving storm in the central Philippines.
Sofronio Dacillo Jr, a disaster-response officer, told The Associated Press on Sunday that 26 villagers died in landslides in different areas in the island province of Biliran, where the weather has improved after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak passed.
Officials and police say at least seven other people died in landslides and floods in four central areas due to Kai-tak, which has weakened into a tropical depression while still drenching provinces.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council says it's still trying to confirm the reported deaths caused by the storm, which forced more than 89,000 people to flee to emergency shelters and stranded thousands of holiday travellers.