Landslides bury 10 Philippines villages, thousands evacuated
Pastor Dale Morgan
Landslides bury 10 Philippines villages, thousands evacuated*
PAGADIAN, Philippines, Aug 14 (AFP) Aug 14, 2006
Landslides triggered by heavy rains buried 10 villages on the southern
Philippines island of Mindanao, displacing thousands of residents,
rescuers said Monday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the affected area
near the town of Kapatagan following the landslides, which took place
late Sunday.
Boulders and loose earth rolled down the mountainside along a
10-kilometer (six-mile) stretch of coastal highway between Kapatagan and
Pagadian on the Moro Gulf side of the island, provincial disaster relief
officials said here.
The landslides cut off parts of the highway, and residents fled to a
government shelter in Kapatagan, they added.
The southern and central Philippines have been hit by a spate of bad
weather this month, with huge waves inundating coastal areas, destroying
more than 1,200 homes. Six people were killed in a recent landslide.