MANILA, Philippines – At least 13 people have been killed in floods and landslides unleashed by a week of pounding rain in the northeastern Philippines, which is still struggling to recover from devastation caused by a typhoon last month, officials said Sunday.
Although the rains eased Sunday, authorities forced about 200 families in Kalinga province to move to safer ground after a mountainside collapsed and formed a natural dam which threatens to release torrents of water down to their villages if it is breached, officials said.
The rain, set off by a cold front and a low-pressure area, has flooded villages in six provinces since Nov. 1, leaving 13 dead. Among the dead were six villagers buried by landslides in Isabela province last week, the government's disaster-response agency said.
Two people remained missing in landslide-hit villages in Isabela province and nearby Cagayan, the agency said.
More than 417,000 people were affected by the floods. Nearly 12,000 fled to emergency shelters, where government relief workers provided thousands of food packs, it said.
President Benigno Aquino III assured flood victims of government help, urging them on Sunday to "continue to be resilient in the face of these calamities." Army troops and officials were on standby to deal with any contingency, he said.
The inundated provinces were buffeted last month by powerful Typhoon Megi, which left more than 30 dea
