Storm, mudslides and flooding kill hundreds in the Philippines just few days to Christmas

Rescuers are searching for survivors of storm Tembin, which also left thousands homeless. The bulk of the damage occurred on Friday, on the main southern island of Mindanao, the Guardian reports.

“The floodwaters from the mountain came down so fast and swept away people and houses,” says Bong Edding, mayor of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte province. “It’s really sad because Christmas is just a few days away, but these things happen beyond our control.”

The country’s woes are compounded by the death of at least 37 people in a shopping mall fire. So indeed it is really another bleak Chrismas for the country.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons a year and warnings are routinely issued. Last week, 46 people were killed in the central Philippines when a typhoon hit. Last Christmas a powerful typhoon hit the densely populated area around Manilaand. In 2013 super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless.

“It happened very fast, the flood waters quickly rose filling our house,” farmer Felipe Ybarsabal, 65, says. “We weren’t able to save anything from the house. There was no help from anyone because it was so fast. Everything was two to three metres under water in less than an hour.”

Police and disaster officials predict the death toll to rise as remote farm communities and coastal areas have been badly hit.

Disaster officials said 159 people are missing while about 70,000 had been forced from their homes.

Additional report from Metro UK.