damn..landslides are a bitch - GoFuckYourself.com

TDF · 12-21-2003, 08:35 AM

At least 200 people were killed or feared dead by weekend landslides that reportedly buried entire villages in the central and southern Philippines, as rescuers battled bad weather to reach the devastated areas.

Villagers used shovels and their bare hands to dig bodies from the mud and debris brought down in landslides that officials said crashed into 160 villages in central Leyte province and the southern island of Mindanao.

By Sunday, 83 bodies had been recovered and 120 people were still missing. Close to 100,000 people had been displaced or evacuated.

With large parts of Leyte and the Surigao and Agusan provinces in Mindanao still blacked out and virtually isolated by the bad weather, hope for the missing dimmed.

Some 700 troops had been sent to Leyte, but intermittent rain and strong winds grounded back-up helicopters and the soldiers were trying to reach remote areas on foot and by truck, Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.

"The number of casualties there will surely rise as we haven't yet recovered those reported to be missing," Ermita told AFP.

"Because of the landslides, towns are now isolated and roads are covered by mud. It is difficult to reach these areas and we are awaiting word from our military officer there. Soldiers are trying to reach some areas by foot," he said.

Local reports said that in some cases whole villages had been buried by landslides.

Television footage showed villagers trying to dig bodies out of the mud in heavy rains in a remote village near the city of Surigao in Mindanao. Recovered corpses were wrapped in clear plastic bags and laid on the roadside to be identified.

A woman whose house was spared when a landslide hit her community in Liloan said at least 19 of her neighbors had been buried under mud.

Huge trees in the backyard protected her family from the cascading earth, said the woman, Baby Almoguera.

"If not for these trees, we would have been hit," Almoguera was quoted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer as saying.

Her neighbor, Teresita Orano, was not so lucky -- she lost her daughter and granddaughter.

"I regretted having survived. I do not want to lose my daughter whom I love so much," Orano said from her hospital bed shortly after being pulled out of the debris.

Ermita said the coast guard and navy had been told to go to southern Leyte "but even by outboard motors, it would be risky to travel by sea".

At an emergency meeting in the capital Manila, President Gloria Arroyo told disaster response officials to speed up rescue operations.

The United States had offered to send Chinook transport helicopters to ferry personnel and relief good to affected areas, she said.

The rescuers who had reached the affected areas were battling fading daylight and continuing downpours, said civil defense chief Melchor Rosales, who was coordinating the rescue operation.

"Our search, rescue and retrieval operations should continue in earnest. With continuous rains, we will try to find out other means to deal with the situation.

"There are some areas where rescuers try to use generators to provide night lighting, but there are really certain areas where this is impossible and they have to wait for (morning) light," he said.

The state utility firm was meanwhile working overtime to restore power in large parts of southern Leyte, where most of the casualties were reported.

Surigao governor Lyndon Barbers appealed for food and medicine from Manila, adding that his province has been effectively cut off from the nearest commercial hub of Butuan in central Mindanao.

"The rains started Tuesday last week and have not abated since. We can't reach island municipalities and all communications are down," Barbers said on local television. "We need food, our access roads have been blocked by landslides."

Experts said massive deforestation caused by illegal logging, and mountainous terrain and weather systems that caused thunderstorms were to blame for the disaster.

A similar tragedy befell northern Leyte's city of Ormoc in November 1991, when more than 8,000 people were killed in landslides and floods caused by a typhoon. Many of those who died were never found, their bodies believed washed away.

nathan_f · 12-21-2003, 08:38 AM

This is why I feel grateful to live in Ontario, Canada. No crazyness like this or earthquakes, typhoons, volcanos, and hurricaines. Tornados are not unheard of here, we just dont get the trailer park killing kind.

12-21-2003, 08:35 AM	#1
TDF Triple OG nigga on GFY Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: in the BP4L family compound Posts: 27,296	damn..landslides are a bitch At least 200 people were killed or feared dead by weekend landslides that reportedly buried entire villages in the central and southern Philippines, as rescuers battled bad weather to reach the devastated areas. Villagers used shovels and their bare hands to dig bodies from the mud and debris brought down in landslides that officials said crashed into 160 villages in central Leyte province and the southern island of Mindanao. By Sunday, 83 bodies had been recovered and 120 people were still missing. Close to 100,000 people had been displaced or evacuated. With large parts of Leyte and the Surigao and Agusan provinces in Mindanao still blacked out and virtually isolated by the bad weather, hope for the missing dimmed. Some 700 troops had been sent to Leyte, but intermittent rain and strong winds grounded back-up helicopters and the soldiers were trying to reach remote areas on foot and by truck, Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said. "The number of casualties there will surely rise as we haven't yet recovered those reported to be missing," Ermita told AFP. "Because of the landslides, towns are now isolated and roads are covered by mud. It is difficult to reach these areas and we are awaiting word from our military officer there. Soldiers are trying to reach some areas by foot," he said. Local reports said that in some cases whole villages had been buried by landslides. Television footage showed villagers trying to dig bodies out of the mud in heavy rains in a remote village near the city of Surigao in Mindanao. Recovered corpses were wrapped in clear plastic bags and laid on the roadside to be identified. A woman whose house was spared when a landslide hit her community in Liloan said at least 19 of her neighbors had been buried under mud. Huge trees in the backyard protected her family from the cascading earth, said the woman, Baby Almoguera. "If not for these trees, we would have been hit," Almoguera was quoted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer as saying. Her neighbor, Teresita Orano, was not so lucky -- she lost her daughter and granddaughter. "I regretted having survived. I do not want to lose my daughter whom I love so much," Orano said from her hospital bed shortly after being pulled out of the debris. Ermita said the coast guard and navy had been told to go to southern Leyte "but even by outboard motors, it would be risky to travel by sea". At an emergency meeting in the capital Manila, President Gloria Arroyo told disaster response officials to speed up rescue operations. The United States had offered to send Chinook transport helicopters to ferry personnel and relief good to affected areas, she said. The rescuers who had reached the affected areas were battling fading daylight and continuing downpours, said civil defense chief Melchor Rosales, who was coordinating the rescue operation. "Our search, rescue and retrieval operations should continue in earnest. With continuous rains, we will try to find out other means to deal with the situation. "There are some areas where rescuers try to use generators to provide night lighting, but there are really certain areas where this is impossible and they have to wait for (morning) light," he said. The state utility firm was meanwhile working overtime to restore power in large parts of southern Leyte, where most of the casualties were reported. Surigao governor Lyndon Barbers appealed for food and medicine from Manila, adding that his province has been effectively cut off from the nearest commercial hub of Butuan in central Mindanao. "The rains started Tuesday last week and have not abated since. We can't reach island municipalities and all communications are down," Barbers said on local television. "We need food, our access roads have been blocked by landslides." Experts said massive deforestation caused by illegal logging, and mountainous terrain and weather systems that caused thunderstorms were to blame for the disaster. A similar tragedy befell northern Leyte's city of Ormoc in November 1991, when more than 8,000 people were killed in landslides and floods caused by a typhoon. Many of those who died were never found, their bodies believed washed away. __________________ Sig heil

12-21-2003, 08:38 AM	#2
nathan_f Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Think of me as Chomsky with dick jokes. Posts: 3,983	This is why I feel grateful to live in Ontario, Canada. No crazyness like this or earthquakes, typhoons, volcanos, and hurricaines. Tornados are not unheard of here, we just dont get the trailer park killing kind.