RAIN-INDUCED floods and landslides killed at least six persons as typhoon Maymay (international name Kujira) battered provinces in the northern part of Luzon, according to reports coming from local disaster response units.
The fatalities include two siblings in Montalban, Rizal; a 45-year old man in Luna, La Union; a 54-year old individual in Alaminos, Pangasinan, and two others in Benguet.
Reports reaching the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame said the casualties in Montalban were pinned to death after a huge rock boulder rolled down from the hills in Barangay San Rafael.
The deaths in La Union and Pangasinan were caused by drowning as river water level rose beyond tolerable.
In Benguet, prolonged and excessive rains caused part of the Cordillera mountain to collapse and crush an eatery where seven people were staying. Four of the seven occupants managed to dig their way out of the rubble. But three others were left trapped.
Rescue teams managed to extract a survivor alive. Two others were later dug up.
In Ifugao, the body of a 24-year-old woman, who had been missing for the past three days, was found floating in a river in Lagawe town.
Government offices and schools were ordered closed on Thursday in Metro Manila and in several provinces in central and northern Luzon due to heavy rains.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported road closures, but has yet to release a list of damaged infrastructures.
