Landslide buries homes and kills families as Typhoon Bavi lashes Philippines

Deadly Landslide Strikes

Heavy rain intensified by Typhoon Bavi triggered a deadly landslide in Malapatan, Sarangani province, burying homes and killing families on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Footage filmed on Saturday shows uprooted trees, broken timber and debris scattered across the slope where the landslide struck.

“At 6:00, the rain started. At 7:00, it was still raining. At 9:00, sir, the heavy rain poured with strong winds and lightning,” said Andrea Maladian, a relative of several victims.

Authorities said the landslide buried two houses before dawn on Friday, killing at least 10 people and leaving three others missing. A separate landslide in Lanao del Sur killed five people, with six others still missing.

Families Mourn Loss

Footage also shows people gathered outside the Angel Brillantes Funeral Home in Malapatan, where relatives waited beside recovered bodies.

Maladian said she lost five family members in the disaster, including her pregnant aunt.

“What happened is so painful. Just think about it, sir: in just one sitio, ten people – actually, eleven people lost their lives. That includes my aunt, who was four months pregnant,” she said.

“It is painful for them that this happened to our sibling. It seems we just can’t accept that this is how our sibling died,” another relative said.

Residents said community members dug through the debris and pulled one person from the rubble, but the victim later died after being taken to the hospital.

“The people there helped each other through bayanihan and managed to retrieve them; they dug them out. They brought one survivor here, but it was no use – they were already dead upon arrival at the hospital,” said local Sebastian Velasquez.

Rescue Efforts Continue

At least 115 families were evacuated as search and rescue teams continued looking for those still missing.

Typhoon Bavi, known locally as Inday, later moved away from the Philippines towards Taiwan and China, but officials warned that monsoon rains could still trigger further flash floods and landslides across vulnerable areas.

Article by Viory