Heavy rains trigger landslides in Philippines

Heavy rains have caused the deaths of at least six people in the southern Philippines, with eight others missing. 

More than 4,000 people were evacuated from low-lying villages, amid fears for typhoon survivors still living in makeshift shelters, police said on Sunday. 

Army troops, police, and local authorities helped evacuate the villagers from four provinces and an island in Mindanao region over the weekend, Liza Mazo, a regional disaster-response official, said.

The downpours have pounded the southern and central Philippines for three days, causing landslides and flooding. 

Four people were crushed to death in their homes on the southern island of Mindanao after landslides struck the mountain town of Tarragona on Saturday, local police said.

A seven-year-old girl was killed and three others were missing after a landslide in the gold-rush mining town of Monkayo, while a one-year-old boy drowned when a flash flood from nearby mountains hit the mining city of Bayugan.

Two other people went missing as they crossed a swollen river in the town of Santiago, while three fishermen vanished after going out to sea in the coastal town of Tubay

Officials fear the rains may worsen the already-harsh living conditions for survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, many of whom are still lodged in temporary shelters after their homes were destroyed in the November typhoon. 

The heavy rains are predicted to continue for two to three days, primarily affecting the islands of Samar and Leyte which bore the brunt of Haiyan, one of the most intense typhoons on record.

Haiyan, one of the worst natural disasters to hit the Philippines, left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing as it flattened whole towns in Samar and Leyte with strong winds and tsunami-like storm surges.