Landslide kills more than 60 people in southern Philippines

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In this Feb. 9, 2024 handout photo from Municipality of Monkayo, rescuers carry a body they recovered at the landslide-hit village of Maco in Davao de Oro province, southern Philippines. Municipality of Monkayo via The Associated Press

Landslide kills more than 60 people in southern Philippines

Officials in the province of Davao de Oro on Monday said emergency crews had confirmed that at least 68 people died in a landslide last Tuesday. Search teams were still looking for 51 people in the gold mining village of Maco, local disaster agency official Edward Macapili told the AFP news agency. Authorities plan to shift their focus on Tuesday from search and rescue to retrieval, town disaster officer Ariel Capoy told Reuters.

What caused the landslide? Heavy rain triggered landslides and floods throughout the region. The landslide last week destroyed more than 50 homes and injured dozens of people. The United States on Monday said the U.S. Agency for International Development would partner with Catholic Relief Services and Action Against Hunger to provide $1.25 million in humanitarian aid.

Dig deeper: Read Sharon Dierberger and Onize Ohikere’s report in WORLD Magazine about a major earthquake in Turkey and Syria earlier this year.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.