Philippines Mudslide May Have Killed 1500 in Center (Leyte)

Bloomberg

Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) -- As many as 1,500 people may be dead after a landslide buried a village in the central Philippines, the Red Cross said. Rescue work was called off due to ``dangerous'' conditions, Governor Rosette Lerias said.

All but four of the 375 houses in the barangay, or village, of Guinsaugon were covered in mud and water, Lerias, governor of Southern Leyte province, said in a telephone interview from Saint Bernard, within whose municipality the village falls. The village had a population of 1,867, and included a school at which 246 children were enrolled, she said.

``The village is in the center of the impact area, and 90 percent of people could be dead,'' Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon said in a telephone interview from Geneva, where he is attending a meeting. ``We're looking at 1,400 or 1,500 people killed. I hope I'm wrong.'' Gordon has been in contact with rescuers in the area.

Television footage showed a sea of mud pouring down a mountainside with little evidence a village stood there. While rescuers recovered 18 bodies and 53 survivors, work was called off because of continued rainfall and darkness, Lerias said, adding that two outlying villages were also affected.

``It's very dangerous for the rescuers -- they have to wade through chest-deep mud,'' Lerias said. ``At about 5:30 p.m. there was another mudslide which we saw from across the municipality.'' Lerias visited the submerged village at about 4:30 p.m. local time, and when she left, it was raining, she said.

`Doubly Difficult' Rescue

``It's made it more than doubly difficult to rescue people,'' Lerias said. Rescue operations will resume at ``first light'' tomorrow she said, adding that trained rescuers are on their way to the affected area.

President Gloria Arroyo ordered the Navy and Coast Guard to send ships and boats to the area to serve as hospitals. The government will hire a ship to transport more doctors, medicine and food, Arroyo said in a televised speech.

A U.S. Navy ship that was in the region is now en route to Leyte, U.S. Embassy Spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said in a telephone interview from the Philippine capital, Manila, adding that $50,000 of aid has been released to the Red Cross. The U.S. will also provide masks, body bags and plastic sheeting, he said.

``We're studying how we can help, and we'll help to the most of our ability,'' Lussenhop said. He didn't name the ship, saying only it has been involved in rescue operations before.

`Like Quicksand'

The La Nina weather phenomenon is causing three to four times more rain than normal in the Philippines, which will continue throughout the first half of the year, the weather bureau said this week. La Nina refers to the periodic cooling of surface temperatures of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which causes abnormal weather patterns.

At least 13 people drowned or were buried in landslides this week in the provinces of Surigao del Sur and Leyte, which is adjacent to Southern Leyte. As many as 5,000 people were killed by floods in 1991 in the town of Ormoc, which is on the same island as Saint Bernard.

The Guinsaugon landslide occurred at about 10:45 a.m. local time, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in an e-mailed situation report. OCHA released $50,000 to help fund the response, it said.

``The rule of thumb is that within 24 hours, you can usually find people alive,'' Lerias said.

Philippine Air Force helicopters have been sent to the village, Office of Civilian Defense Deputy Administrator Anthony Golez said in a phone interview. Gordon said the Red Cross has 14 people and hundreds of volunteers at the scene. Another two teams, totaling about 28 rescuers, are heading there, and sniffer dogs are also being sent ``if the planes can land,'' he said. The mudslide is likely to carry people and homes to the sea, he said.

``This is an active landslide, it's still moving and the rains are still pouring,'' Gordon said. ``When you step on it, it's very difficult to rescue people because you sink like quicksand.''

To contact the reporter on this story:
Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 17, 2006 08:08 EST