Floods in the Philippines Leave 6 Dead and 19 Missing

On Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) confirmed that at least 6 citizens have died, 3 people are injured, and 19 people remain missing due to severe flooding hitting regions of the southern and eastern Philippines.

RELATED:

Dozens Killed by Floods in Nigeria

Some 44,700 people are displaced from their homes by the floods, which affect more than 100,000 inhabitants of numerous towns, especially on the island of Mindanao.

Over the weekend, Civil Defense members rescued more than 176 people from floodwaters in Misamis Oriental province, which is in the Mindanao island.

The Meteorological Service in the Philippines warned of torrential rains since Saturday in the Visayas (central-east), Mindanao (south) and Palawan (southwest) regions.

Oroquieta, the capital city of Misamis, "was flooded including the public market. Power was cut off and there was no telephone signal," Governor Henry Oaminal said, as reported by outlet Raw Story.

Hit by up to 20 cyclones each year, the Philippines is ranked among the nations most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Experts from international agencies point to shanty towns as the main factor in the large number of deaths caused by natural disasters in this Asian country.