Landslide kills 4 as Tropical Cyclone Rosita cuts across north Luzon

Landslides killed four people and trapped at least 24 others on Tuesday in the mountainous areas of northern Luzon, officials said, as Typhoon Rosita barrelled across the country with strong winds and rain.

According to the Cordillera Office of Civil Defense, the landslide happened at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Batad in Banawe, Ifugao. Three of the fatalities were minors.

The fatalities were identified by the OCD-Cordillera Administrative Region as follows: Baltazar Pinnay, 48; Rexibelle Pinnay, 11 (female); Rhezel Pinnay, 10 (male); and Rydnell Pinnay, 8 (male).

Rosita, the 18th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, swept across the main island of Luzon with wind speeds of 140 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 230 kph, before heading west over the South China Sea, the state weather agency PAGASA said.

Roads blocked by collapsed earth prevented rescue teams from reaching the 24 people trapped in a landslide late in the afternoon that engulfed a Public Works and Highways Department building in the Mountain Province, local authorities said.

Another landslide in neighboring Ifugao province killed a 48-year-old man and three children aged between 8 and 11, according to a police report.

Typhoon Rosita came just six weeks after Typhoon Ompong dumped massive rains on Luzon, triggering dozens of landslides that killed more than 70 people in the mountainous Cordillera Region.

At first light helicopters would fly rescue teams and search dogs to the 24 people trapped, who included public highways contractors, security guards and people sheltering from the storm, said Ruben Carandang, head of civil defense in the Cordilleras.

Footage from Rosita's path captured by local television showed winds bending trees and signs, sheets of rain lashing down and loose materials flying through the air.

Local television reported one person was electrocuted and killed and another missing in Isabela, the province where Yutu made landfall.

Thousands of people in the typhoon's path were evacuated before the storm hit from hilly, coastal and river areas on Monday after warnings were issued for landslides and waves of up to 3 meters.

Rosita, which was internationally named Yutu, has weakened substantially since the night of October 24, when as a super typhoon packing winds of 270 kph, it made a direct hit on Saipan and Tinian, two islands of the Northern Marianas, an American territory about 9,000 kms west of the US mainland.

It was the strongest storm to hit the archipelago in 50 years and killed a woman and injured more than 130 people. It tore off the roofs of buildings, flipped vehicles and damaged generators, water pipes and downed hundreds of electricity poles.

By late Tuesday, Rosita had weakened to tropical storm, with maximum winds of 110 kph and gusts of 135 kph, PAGASA said. — Reuters/KG, GMA News