Manila - Rescue workers struggled Saturday through thigh-high mud and debris in search of dozens of people still missing in landslides in the northern PhilippinesRelief officials said at least 187 people were confirmed killed in in the landslides brought about by Typhoon Parma, which hovered over the area for one week.
Seventy-eight of the fatalities were from the mountain town of La Trinidad in Benguet province, 210 kilometres north of Manila, where more than 30 houses were buried in landslides before dawn Friday when people were asleep.
La Trinidad Mayor Artemio Galwan appealed for more rescuers to retrieve bodies and recover survivors.
"The landslide was massive," he said. "It almost erased the entire village. We need more digging equipment, ropes and lights so we can conduct the operations until nighttime.
Sixty-two more people were also killed in landslides in the nearby resort city of Baguio, which was isolated after the three major highways leading there were hit by landslides.
Other fatalities were from the provinces of La Union, Pangasinan, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija, Quezon and Camarines Sur.
Glenn Rabonza, administrator of the Office of Civil Defence, said more troops have been dispatched to Benguet and other mountain provinces hit by landslides.
Rabonza said Filipino and US troops were also dispatched to the northern plains, where massive flashfloods hit the provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Bulacan.
Hundreds of people remained trapped on the roofs of their homes in some of the towns where floodwaters remained
"Rescue teams from both the national government and US forces were deployed to undertake rescue and evacuation operations," he said.
The floods worsened when five dams in the northern Philippines were forced to release water after their levels became critical because of the heavy rainfall.
Parma has hovered over the northern provinces and hit land two more times following its initial October 3 landfall after it was sucked in by Typhoon Melor, which passed by the country on its way to Japan.
Parma's havoc followed the worst floods in more than 40 years in Manila and its outlying provinces, brought about last month by Tropical Storm Ketsana, which killed 337 people with left 37 missing.
More than 4 million people were affected by Ketsana with nearly 300,000 forced to stay in evacuation centres.
The two storms have caused damage to agriculture and infrastructure amounting to at least 12.4 billion pesos (269.5 million dollars).
