Manila, April 14 (BNA) The Philippine military pledged Thursday to continue search and rescue efforts after Tropical Storm Meiji swept through the central regions of the country this week, burying many of them under landslides and killing at least 123 people.
Typhoon Megi was the first typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands that sees an average of 20 tropical storms annually, Reuters reports.
The city government said in a report that 86 of the victims fell in Bai Bai, a mountainous area prone to landslides in Leyte County, where 236 people were also injured.
The National Disaster Management Agency said three more people had died in different provinces while six people were still missing.
“Search, rescue and recovery operations will continue,” a Philippine Army infantry unit in Pai Bai said on Facebook.
Aerial photos and videos from the local government showed collapsed slopes and coconut plantations and homes buried in dirt and mud. In one area, rescuers had to use inflatable boats to reach a landslide.
The Meiji, which made landfall on Sunday, has since faded with winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour and winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.
The Army’s Engineering and Construction Battalion said on the Leyte Facebook page that the Cantagos area had been “extremely damaged”. “Homes and livelihoods have been damaged, families and individuals have been lost, and communications are unstable,” the post read.
Government data showed that more than 162 thousand displaced people are sheltering in evacuation centers, while another 41 thousand are living with their relatives.
The Meiji’s devastating path brought back memories of other deadly storms in the Philippines.
In December, Category 5 Typhoon Ray swept through the central Philippines, killing 405 and injuring nearly 1,400. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, killed 6,300 in 2013.
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