5 dead, hundreds of thousands affected by monsoon rains in Philippines

MANILA - At least five people died and more than 700,000 were affected by days of heavy rains, which have lashed the Philippines since last week, authorities said on Sunday.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said it has received reports that a resident of Luisa Pelew died in a landslide while a resident of Negros Oriental Angelito Jipulan drowned. The disaster agency said it is verifying reports that one remains missing while another was injured.

Police have also reported at least three more deaths, including a Negros Occidental resident who reportedly drowned and two children from Antique province whose house was buried by a landslide.

The NDRRMC said the affected population of 158,509 families or 728,003 persons are from 585 villages in the National Capital Region (NCR), and several provinces in the Philippine main Luzon Island, including Ilocos region, Pampanga, Bataan, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Pangasinan, and some provinces in the central Philippines.

"Of which, a total of 53,743 families or 229,240 residents are being served inside and outside evacuation centers," the NDRRMC said.

Most of the displaced population, 51,326 families or 217,393 residents, are from Central Luzon, the agency said, adding that only 20 families or 76 persons are listed as displaced in NCR, all from Valenzuela City.

The NDRRMC said a total of 334 areas in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, CAR, and NCR were flooded, though many of them have already seen water subside.

At least three tropical cyclones battered the Philippines in recent weeks. The latest cyclone, locally named Josie, is the Philippines' 10th tropical cyclone for 2018.

Tropical depression Josie continued to move north-northeastward over Bashi Channel on Sunday afternoon as it began making its way in the Philippines. But the state weather bureau PAGASA said Josie, which still packs maximum winds of 60 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 75 kilometers per hour, continues to enhance the southwest monsoon which is affecting Luzon and the Visayas region in the central Philippines.

Rainy season in the Philippines occurs from June to October. The Philippines is a tropical country and experiences around 20 typhoons every year.