The death toll in floods and landslides caused by days of heavy rains in the Philippines has risen to 17, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Friday. Most of the fatalities drowned in flashfloods, while others were electrocuted or buried in landslides. Four people were still missing and feared to be dead, the OCD said. Many communities in northern provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Nueva Ecija were still under water even as the rains eased overnight. In Pampanga and Tarlac, muddy floodwaters rampaged through dozens of villages after two dikes broke. Landslides struck the town of Pantabanga in Nueva Ecija, stranding hundreds of commuters. The OCD said 133,203 people were affected by the bad weather, but only 6,684 were still in evacuation centers. At least 80 million pesos (1.42 million dollars) worth of crops were destroyed by the floods and landslides, it added. The weather bureau said the heavy rains were caused by the southwest monsoon, which was strengthened by two typhoons that skirted the northern Philippines on the way to Taiwan.
