Dozens missing, millions swamped

Muddy aftermath: A resident pushing his bicycle past a mud-filled store in Noveleta town as residents begin cleaning up. — AFP

More than 100 people have died in one of the most destructive storms to lash the Philippines this year with dozens more feared missing after villagers fled in the wrong direction and got buried in a boulder-laden mudslide. Almost two million others were swamped by floods in several provinces, officials said.

At least 53 of 105 people who died – mostly in flash floods and landslides – were from Maguindanao province, which was swamped by unusually heavy rains set off by Tropical Storm Nalgae.