Philippines landslides kill at least 4, officials say

Landslides in the northern Philippines killed at least four people as heavy rain from a tropical depression hit Luzon, authorities said Thursday.

In Benguet province, north of Manila, a hillside collapsed on a small restaurant on Thursday, burying three employees who had been in the kitchen. Benguet provincial police Colonel Dionisio Bonoy said two were killed and one survivor was retrieved at 10:00 am.

The national disaster agency separately confirmed two other deaths from a landslide in neighbouring Rizal province the day before.

Government offices and schools were ordered closed in Manila and across parts of northern Luzon because of the rain. Government meteorologist John Manalo said the depression, formerly Tropical Storm Kujira, had sustained winds of about 55 kilometres per hour as it moved toward the Philippine Sea.

Manalo warned that severe winds could still affect much of the country and said saturated ground increased the risk of flooding and landslides.