Five people from a family died after being buried in a landslide triggered by Typhoon Odette in Sibagat, Agusan del Sur, authorities said Sunday.
The family of 11 was believed to be fleeing to an evacuation center when the landslide occurred last Thursday, Dec. 16 at Barangay Kioya.
Another member was left in their home so he could feed their livestock, but his relatives were nowhere to be found when he arrived later at the evacuation center, according to the Sibagat municipal information office.
The victims' bodies, aged 12 to 23, were recovered by local officials, police and the military in a search and retrieval operation. The leg of a 28-year-old victim was also retrieved.
Authorities are still conducting a search and retrieval for six others.
On Saturday, the country's disaster agency said at least 31 people were reported dead after Typhoon Odette battered parts of Visayas and Mindanao, although figures reported separately by some local government units have a higher total.
Odette is the 15th and among the deadliest of the tropical storms to strike the Philippine archipelago this year.
— Report from Charmane Awitan
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