Ten people were drowned in floods brought about by more than two weeks of rain in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday. Benito Ramos, administrator of the Office of Civil Defence (OCD), said more than 650,000 people were affected by floods in the provinces of Davao del Norte, Bukidnon, Compostela Valley, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato. An OCD report said a total of 14,568 people were evacuated from their homes, while damage to agriculture, infrastructure and private properties was estimated at 429.04 million pesos ($9.97 million ). The weather bureau said a tropical depression in the eastern Philippines was expected to enhance the south-west monsoon and would bring more rains to the southern region, according to a report of the German Press Agency "DPA".
