According to the authorities, 156 people died in the most severely affected province of Leyte, about 600 kilometers south-east of the capital Manila. Tropical storm “Megi”, called “Agaton” in the Philippines, made landfall on April 10 with gusts of up to 105 kilometers per hour on the east coast.
Heavy rains had triggered landslides that fell on villages and buried dozens of houses. The search for survivors continued on Sunday despite the risk of new landslides, as Mark Timbal, spokesman for the agency, told radio station DZBB. In Baybay City and nearby Abuyog in Leyte, 104 people were still missing. According to the authority, 16 people died in other affected areas, mostly in floods caused by the storm.
More than two million people in 30 provinces were affected by “Megi”, and a good 200,000 citizens sought protection in evacuation centers. On Sunday, civil protection estimated the damage to houses, agriculture and public infrastructure at the equivalent of more than 4.6 million euros.
The island nation is hit by an average of around 20 typhoons each year. The worst storm to date, Haiyan, killed more than 6,300 people in November 2013.
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