Landslides and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Megi have killed at least 148 people in the Philippines, according to the latest official reports released Thursday.
Dozens of people are still missing as the storm, the strongest to hit the archipelago this year, has forced tens of thousands to seek refuge in evacuation centers.
In central Leyte province, the worst-hit, devastating landslides have devastated farming and fishing communities, swept away homes and altered the landscape. The disaster-prone region is regularly battered by storms – including Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit it in 2013 – and scientists warn they will intensify as the planet heats up due to climate change.
42 people killed
Rescuers from Abuyog Municipality on Tuesday recovered dozens of bodies from a coastal village destroyed by a landslide. At least 42 people were killed and one person drowned, authorities said.
Over the past weekend, local authorities said another 86 people were killed and dozens injured in vegetable, rice and coconut-growing villages around the city of Baybay. More than 100 people are still missing. Three people have also drowned on the southern main island of Mindanao, the national disaster agency said in its latest update.
Megi struck at the start of Holy Week, one of the key holidays in the predominantly Catholic country, when thousands of people travel to the Philippines to visit loved ones.