STORM IMPACT. The landslide site in Can-ipa village, Baybay City, Leyte in this April 10, 2022 photo. Retrieval is ongoing for a family of five buried in a landslide. (Contributed photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – Retrieval operations are ongoing for a family of five buried in a landslide in Baybay City, Leyte while the son of a university president has been missing since Sunday as weather disturbance "Agaton", which now weakened into a tropical depression, battered several areas in Eastern Visayas.
Rescuers resumed the retrieval at the landslide site around 5 a.m. on Monday after it stopped Sunday night due to poor visibility and heavy rains brought by "Agaton", the Philippine National Police (PNP) said in its update sent to reporters Monday.
The landslide occurred past 2 p.m. Sunday in Can-ipa village in Baybay. The police identified the victims as Delfin Moraga, Carmencita Moraga, Michelle Rulona, Raymart Rulona, and Rey Mitchelle Rulona.
“Responders found that the house was already covered with soil and victims were trapped inside. Status of the victims has not yet been confirmed,” the PNP said.
Several flooding incident and minor landslides have been reported in several communities in Abuyog, Leyte due to days of heavy downpour since April 7 in the region.
Meanwhile, Adrian Paulo Tulin, a resident of Pangasugan village in Baybay City was declared missing Sunday night after swimming in a beach in Guadalupe village.
He is the son of Edgardo Tulin, president of Visayas State University, a leading university in agriculture and allied fields based in Baybay City.
He was last seen swimming at around 2:30 p.m., police said. Philippine Coast Guard personnel have been conducting search and rescue operations despite rough seas brought by the weather disturbance.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, the center of "Agaton" was spotted over the coastal waters of Tanauan, Leyte with a maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometer per hour near the center and a gustiness of up to 75 kilometers per hour. It is moving slowly northwest.
All the region’s six provinces - Eastern Samar, Samar, Northern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte were placed under tropical cyclone wind signal number 1. (PNA)
