Philippines: At Least 4 Dead, Dozens Buried After Landslide

At least four people have died and dozens more remain missing after a landslide, caused by the effects of Typhoon Mangkhut, in Naga, the Philippines.

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“The landslide buried about 20 to 24 houses and all the people inside were trapped,” regional police official Debold Sinas told reporters. More than 300 villagers were evacuated from the area as search and rescue continues, Angeline Templo, an assistant to the mayor, told the Associated Press (AP).

On Thursday, dozens of homes and people were buried by the devastating landslide. “It was like an earthquake and there was this thundering, loud banging sound. All of us ran out,” Cristita Villarba, a 53-year-old survivor, recounted to AP.

Officials confirmed that some people managed to send text messages pleading for help while others can be heard shouting from beneath the rubble.

"This is the first time I've seen this kind of landslide. It's massive, and almost everyone is affected. Even the miners are helping the rescuers, the police -- everyone is giving their best," one rescuer official remarked.

“We’re running out of time. The ground in the area is still vibrating. We’re striking a balance between intensifying our rescue efforts and ensuring the safety of our rescuers,” the Naga city councilor Carmelino Cruz stated, adding “every now and then you will hear vibrations.”

Naga is a coastal city, on the central island of Cebu, with a population of more than 100,000. Residents are blaming limestone quarries, which they say may have caused cracks in the mountainside. 

The landslide hit while the country is recovering from a super typhoon which extensively damaged the agricultural region and left more than 80 dead and 71 others missing. 

Heavy rains from Saturday’s Typhoon Mangkhut — known locally as Ompong — caused more than 100 landslides, most in the mountainous Cordillera region on the main island of Luzon.