Floods, landslides kill at least 20 people in southern Philippines

Thirteen people died in Davao de Oro province while two were missing, and seven people were killed in neighboring Davao del Norte, disaster agency officials said.

A northeast monsoon and trough of a low pressure area brought rains in southern Mindanao region from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2, resulting in deadly floods and landslides, data from the national disaster agency show.

More than 812,000 persons were affected, of which around 85,000 people took shelter in evacuation centers, it added.

In mid-January, 18 people died due to floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in southern Philippines.

Landslides and floods are frequent in the Southeast Asian nation, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands that is hit by about 20 tropical storms annually.