Death toll from landslide in Philippines climbs to 85 as rescuers search for missingThe death toll from landslides and devastating floods in the central Philippines triggered by a tropical depression climbed to 85 with many still missing.
Most of the casualties, including young children, were killed when their homes collapsed in landslides after days of heavy rain in several provinces in the central Philippines, said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the national disaster agency.
"If we don't recover the missing or we recover them dead, that is 105 deaths, which we hope not," Jalad said.
Officials put three provinces under a "state of calamity" to give them access to emergency funds.
Bicol, with a population of 5.8 million, was the hardest hit, with 68 killed in intense rains and landslides. Damage to agriculture in Bicol, which produces rice and corn, was estimated at 342 million pesos ($8.9 million Cdn).
About 20 tropical cyclones hit the Philippines every year, with destroyed crops and infrastructure taking a toll on human lives and weighing down one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.
Edited from CBC
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