Three killed in Bicol floods

At least three villagers have been killed and thousands evacuated from their homes after days of heavy monsoon rains swamped large areas of the central Philippines, officials said yesterday.

The dead included two men who drowned in floodwaters Saturday in Bulan town in Sorsogon province, and a villager who was reported to have drowned the day before in the nearby province of Albay, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

A 14-year-old boy went missing after being swept away by rampaging floodwaters Saturday in Kalibo town in Aklan province, the office said.

The weather bureau said a tropical depression that passed near the central Philippines worsened monsoon rains that have been pounding the region since last week.

In Calapan in Oriental Mindoro, as many as 20,000 people from about 20 villages had been affected by late Saturday in the latest floods, said city administrator Salvador Leachon, who helped evacuate residents.

A river that runs through Calapan overflowed early Saturday following several days of continuous rain, breaching a 700-meter section of an earthen dike, Leachon said.

The weather improved in Aklan and Iloilo yesterday, easing floods and allowing many families to return to their homes and government teams to distribute food and medicine, officials said. — AP, Arnell Ozaeta