2 missing, 2,400 evacuated in Philippine floods

At least two men were reported missing and more than 2,400 villagers were evacuated over the weekend after two days of rains flooded low-lying villages and set off minor landslides in the southeastern Philippines, officials said Sunday.
     
The men went missing while separately crossing rivers in the provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte, said Liza Mazo, a regional disaster-response official.
     
Heavy rains set off flooding in four provinces and on an island in the region, prompting army troops, police and local authorities to evacuate more than 2,400 villagers, she said.
     
Many of those evacuated were in Butuan city, where the Agusan River threatened to overflow and inundate 15 low-lying villages, Mazo said.
     
Forecasters say a brewing storm has dumped rains in the remote region since Saturday, but they expect the weather to improve in about two days. The stormy weather has also brought sporadic rains in central Philippine provinces where Typhoon Haiyan left more than 6,100 people dead and nearly 1,800 others missing in November.
     
Haiyan displaced about 4 million people and thousands continue to live in tents as the government scrambles to build temporary shelters.


AP