At least 10 have been killed while more than 50 remain missing as landslides, fueled by heavy rains, wreaked havoc in different parts of the world, in the Philippines and Georgia, according to reports Wednesday.
In the Philippines, the toll stands at six confirmed deaths, with 40 individuals still missing.
The disaster unfolded near a gold-mining site in the town of Maco, located in the Davao De Oro province, approximately 965 kilometers, (600 miles) south of Manila.
The landslide, which occurred Tuesday evening, engulfed two buses ferrying workers from the mining site along with an unspecified number of residential structures.
The exact count of passengers aboard the buses remains unclear.
Local authorities, grappling with the aftermath, reported 46 individuals still missing, based on initial assessments by the municipal disaster risk reduction office.
So far, six bodies have been recovered, though officials caution that these numbers are subject to validation.
"The rescue and retrieval operations are still ongoing, together with other agencies of the government and the provincial rescue teams," stated the office in a Facebook post.
Responding to the crisis, authorities ordered the evacuation of five villages in Maco, resulting in 758 residents seeking refuge in evacuation centers.
The heavy downpour, attributed to the northeast monsoon and a trough of low pressure, has been pummeling the southern region of Mindanao since late January, exacerbating the already dire situation.
The deluge has triggered floods and landslides, claiming a total of 16 lives and affecting over 812,000 people.
Among them, 398,158 have been displaced from their homes since Jan. 28, as reported by the national disaster agency.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, a similar tragedy unfolded, claiming four lives and leaving five people still missing after a landslide struck the village of Nergeti, located approximately 170 kilometers from the capital city of Tbilisi.
The landslide, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, prompted an urgent search and rescue operation.
"Rescuers found four bodies and a search operation is underway to find five missing people," announced Temur Mgebrishvili, the head of Georgia's emergency situations service, addressing journalists.
Expressing condolences, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili conveyed her deep sorrow over the tragic loss of life. "I offer my condolences to the families of victims and hope that those missing will soon be found," she stated.
Georgia, accustomed to heavy rains and flooding, often grapples with the risk of landslides due to its rugged terrain.
This disaster echoes past incidents, including a devastating landslide in a resort town in northwestern Georgia last August, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals.
In 2008, a landslide in the southern Black Sea region of Adjara resulted in six deaths.
