The death toll from landslides and floods caused by the first tropical storm to hit the Philippines this year has reached 28, with more than 20 others reported missing, officials said Tuesday according to the dpa. Twenty-two fatalities were recovered in Baybay City in Leyte province, 599 kilometres south-east of Manila, according to Marissa Miguel Cano, the city's information officer. Cano said 27 people were also reported missing in Baybay City, where landslides buried dozens of houses and flash floods swept through the affected villages after tropical storm Megi slammed into the country on Sunday. More than 22,600 people were forced to flee their homes in 17 provinces affected by Megi, locally called Agaton, which brought torrential rains. Megi has since weakened into a tropical depression and was now packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometres per hour (km/h) and gusts of up to 75 km/h, the weather bureau said. It was moving slowly towards the east, but the bureau said its path could change "considering the continuing erratic nature of its movement." The weather bureau is also monitoring severe tropical storm Malakas, which maintained its strength as it moved towards the Philippines from the east. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 100 km/h and gusts of up to 125 km/h, the bureau said.
