hmmm, this is not good....
LEGASPI, Philippines (AFP) - At least 37 people have been swept to their deaths and hundreds more are feared dead as powerful rivers of mud and volcanic ash swamped villages in the eastern Philippines, officials said.
The mudslides triggered by super typhoon Durian's torrential rains reached as high as rooftops as they poured down from the scenic Mount Mayon volcano, according to witnesses.
Rescue teams were hampered by blocked roads and swollen rivers as they tried to reach many of the villages around the still active volcano.
Provincial governor Fernando Gonzales said about 36 people were confirmed dead with at least another 13 missing in mudslides that hit communities near Mayon, some 350 kilometers (217 miles) southeast of Manila
Elsewhere in the Philippines, at least one person was killed in the town of Canaman after being hit by a piece of metal roofing blown off by the typhoon, the civil defense office added.
"We are getting reports that there are more and more casualties," Gonzales said, adding that he expected the death toll to rise as more local officials reported in on the damage their communities had sustained.
Roel Ilarena, a resident of Padang village near Mayon, said as many as 500 people may have been killed when the mudflow struck overnight. Officials could not confirm his story.
The volcanic ash on the slopes of Mayon combined with heavy rains from the typhoon to form the mudslides which reached up to the rooftops in Daraga town, officials said.
"There are still a lot of missing, still a lot of bodies being dug out," the town's mayor Jerry Jucian said.
The Philippine National Red Cross said a local resident reported as many as 200 had been killed, but it was unable to confirm the figure.
Around 30,000 residents of villages on the slopes of Mayon had been forced to evacuate in August when the volcano showed signs of erupting. They returned home in September after it simmered down.
Rescue efforts Friday were being hampered by storm damage which knocked out electricity, telephone lines and even water services across much of the Bicol peninsula which includes Legaspi and Daraga.
"Its a really bad situation here," the governor said.
Roads were blocked by rocks washed down by the mudflow and it was hard just to communicate with rural areas, he added.
The military was waiting for the weather to clear to bring helicopters into the affected area.
The civil defense office said more than 13,900 people had been evacuated in the Bicol region.
Legaspi City's airport was shut down as debris littered the runway and the windows and part of the roof of the terminal were destroyed by the storm. The power outage also knocked out the control tower.
Large parts of Legaspi City were flooded, the civil defense office said.
Durian had weakened as it passed near Bicol late Thursday, packing maximum winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and was charted before dawn Friday near the island of Mindoro, moving west at a much slower rate.
Storm alerts were lowered in most of the country, but the third level of a four-step storm alert remained in force over Mindoro island and nearby Cavite province.
The Philippines is still recovering from the impact of typhoon Cimaron, the strongest cyclone to hit the nation in more than 10 years, which left 38 dead or missing in late October.
In September, Manila was hit by typhoon Xangsane which caused widespread damage and cut off electricity in many parts of the capital for days.
By the time Xangsane left the Philippines there were more than 200 people dead and a damages bill running into the millions of dollars.
