BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – At least 14 people have died in landslides after days of relentless rain battered the Cordillera, while swollen rivers and continuing slope failures isolated communities and left at least 15 road sections impassable across the region.

Thirteen civilians were injured, while no one remained missing as of 6 am Tuesday, August 11, according to the Police Regional Office-Cordillera, citing data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

All the reported deaths were caused by landslides in Baguio City and Benguet, police said. 

At least 10 people died in Guisad Surong, Baguio City; two were killed when a landslide buried a roadside eatery in Shilan, La Trinidad; and two relatives died after being buried while clearing mud near their home in Paoay, Atok.

The figures rose sharply from Monday morning, August 10, when authorities reported six deaths, 11 injuries and five missing people across the region. 

Search and retrieval operations continued through Monday, particularly in Guisad Surong, where responders searched through mud and debris for those initially reported missing.

Police said four search, rescue and retrieval operations had been conducted across the region, with 13 people rescued and 14 bodies retrieved.

The names of the dead and injured were withheld out of consideration for the victims and their families.

Communities isolated

Police also reported that all six barangays of Lacub in Abra were isolated by swollen rivers and a series of landslides. They are Bacag, Buneg, Guinguinabang, Lan-ag, Pacoc and Poblacion.

Nineteen areas were also left without electricity, while 19 power lines were affected. 

Authorities recorded damage to 52 houses, one school and one commercial building.

Roads cut off

At least 15 road sections in the Cordillera remained impassable as of 6 am Tuesday, down from 18 reported Monday morning. Nine were in Benguet, four in Abra, one in Kalinga and one in Mountain Province.

Affected routes in Benguet included Kennon Road, the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road in Beckel, Lubas-Ambiong Road, and road sections in Atok, Itogon and Tublay.

In Abra, roads in Licuan-Baay, Boliney, Malibcong and Tubo remained blocked or unsafe because of landslides, erosion, road collapse or swollen waterways.

The Tabuk-Banaue Road via Tanudan-Barlig was also listed as impassable, while the Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur Road via Tue Road remained closed at Balaoa, Tadian, because of a soil collapse. Motorists were advised to use the route via Kayan instead.

Evacuations

Police reported 19 occupied evacuation centers across Abra, Baguio City and Benguet, sheltering 85 families, or 351 people.

Four occupied evacuation centers were in Abra, five in Baguio City and 10 in Benguet.

Police deployed 176 personnel for disaster response, including 138 for road monitoring and clearing and 19 each at evacuation centers and the Women and Children Protection Desk.

Another 1,074 personnel were listed under the Regional Standby Support Force.

Classes suspended

Classes remained suspended Tuesday as authorities continued to contend with rain and landslide risks.

Authorities said classes at all levels in public and private schools were suspended in 27 municipalities in Abra and all 13 municipalities in Benguet. Baguio City suspended classes from preschool through Grade 12 in public and private schools.

More rain expected

The state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast 50 to 100 millimeters of rain over Benguet, La Union and Pangasinan through Tuesday evening, with another 50 to 100 mm expected over the same provinces from Tuesday evening through Wednesday evening, August 12.

It warned that rainfall could be higher in mountainous and elevated areas and that its impacts could be worsened by the significant amount of rain that had already fallen.

With slopes saturated and several roads and communities affected, authorities urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from landslide-prone slopes and swollen waterways, and follow evacuation orders and local advisories – Rappler.com