The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said at least 29 people were still missing and eight others were injured.
The council said more than 920,000 people had been affected by the storm, more than 200,000 had been displaced, while more than 35,000 had been evacuated first. About 660 evacuation centers are in operation, it added.
The Agriculture Department said agricultural losses caused by Megi, known as Agaton in the Philippines, were estimated at more than $8 million (423.8 million Philippine pesos) – double the figure reported a day earlier. Ministry of Agriculture said.
The ministry added that at least 6,557 farmers and 10,920 hectares of farmland were affected by commodities including rice, maize and cattle affected by the tropical storm.
Among the hardest hit areas are Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Caraga.
The mayor of Abuyog, in Leyte province, said on Facebook that a landslide had “obliterated” Pilar, a local or neighboring barangay, in a “catastrophe that broke my heart”.
Lemuel Gin K. Traya said the landslide occurred even after previous evacuation efforts had taken place.
“We did our best to save the people of Barangay Pilar. We were able to rescue and save some of the injured children, the elderly, the injured and the suffering.
“As of today, the survivors are being treated with medication and are well cared for. All other evacuees are safe and under our care.”
Images shared by the local fire department on Monday showed rescuers wading through water near partially flooded homes and digging for survivors in a landslide-hit area.
Megi, which was downgraded to a tropical depression on Monday, is the first storm to make landfall on the islands this year. The country experiences about 20 such storms every year.
The Philippines is still reeling from the effects of Super Typhoon Rai, the most powerful storm to hit the country in 2021. Rai, known locally as Odette, has claimed the lives of more than 300 people. and injured more than 500 people, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported, citing. Philippine National Police.
