Manila (AsiaNews / Agencies) – For over a week torrential rains have been lashing the Philippines without let up, and eight regions - in the north, east and south – are the worst affected. Landslides and floods have caused 12 deaths so far. At least 90 thousand people have been forced to flee their homes. The situation has become increasingly dramatic in the last hours in the city of Butuan, in the south.
Butuan has 270 thousand inhabitants, more than four thousand people have been displaced. Blanche Gobenciong, Regional Head of Civil rotection, said: "These are the worst floods in ten years. Butuan is usually never flooded, but this time the whole city is. "
Rescuers found the bodies of two gold miners caught in a landslide in the outskirts of the city. Ten other people drowned or were buried by landslides in other parts of the country. Two other people remain missing.