Two French tourists were among at least 10 people killed when heavy rains collapsed an earthen dike and caused landslides and floods that deluged towns and villages in the northern Philippines, officials said Friday. The disaster was partly caused by heavy rains and strong winds induced
by typhoon “Kiko.”

A group of French and South Koreans were traveling on Mount Pinatubo on Thursday in three vehicles when a landslide blocked their path, trapping one of the cars, said Tarlac provincial Gov. Victor Yap.

Three French nationals were swept away in a flash flood and the bodies of two of them were recovered early Friday. One remains missing, Yap said.

A Filipino guide also was killed, he said. The rest of the group was safe. "They said the water suddenly rose and they were swept away by strong currents,'' Yap told The Associated Press.

The officials earlier identified two of the dead as Canadians but later said they were mistaken.

French Embassy Consul Arnold Rayar said he spoke with the survivors and they confirmed they were French.

In Baguio, three children were killed while two elderly persons were seriously injured in separate landslides caused by the strong rains and winds due to the southwest monsoon.

The mudslides buried their houses in Barangays Camp 8 and Balsigan here late Thursday evening.

Chief Superintendent Orlando L. Pestano, regional director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in the Cordillera and chairman of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), identified the fatalities as Edu Pisak, 13, Michael Pisak, 12 and Cris Pisak, all residents of Camp 8, Baguio City.

Injured were Modesta Omiten and her husband Mariano, 74 and 76 years old, respectively and residents of Balsigan, Baguio City.

Pestano said the Pisak children were asleep when their house was buried by a huge landslide along Kennon road.

The city disaster coordinating council has recorded over 20 minor and major landslides in the different parts of the city over the past three days of continuous heavy downpour as well as hundreds of fallen electric poles that resulted in a major power outage in this resort city and in Benguet.

Engr. Roy L. Manao, officer-in-charge of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Cordillera, said Kennon road is temporarily closed to vehicular traffic because of several major and minor landslides.

In Zambales, 365 families were affected by the flashfloods after the dikes along the Bucao river collapsed and flooded 10 barangays Friday.

DPWH District Engineer Hercules Manglicmot identified the barangays as Batonlapoc, Carael, Paco, San Juan, Paudpod, Consuelo, Capayawan, San Miguel, Beneg and Bangan ,all of this town.

Two helicopters from the Philippine Air force rescued some of the residents from the top of their houses.

According to Manglicmot, the Balinbaquero and Maraunot rivers which are tributaries of the Bucao river carried a big volume of water to Bucao, bursting its dikes and flooding several barangays.

A local tribal chief, Carling Dumulot, estimated that some 12,000 had evacuated their homes and said loosened trees carried by water and mud were slamming against houses and hindering evacuation efforts.

Three villages were completely under water, he said.

"There are many residents who spent the night shivering on the rooftops,'' said dela Cruz. At least two died in Botolan and surrounding areas, Zambales Gov. Amor Deloso said. The government closed all schools in the province and declared a state of emergency.

"Virtually all areas in the province had experienced flooding,'' he said. In Tarlac province, on Pinatubo's northeastern side, police chief Rudu Lacadin said authorities recovered two other bodies.

Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant, dispatched Friday aircraft and search and rescue teams to assist to the affected residents after eight barangays of Botolan, Zambales have been flooded due to a destroyed dike.

Two teams of SOG divers complete with diving gears and rubber boats were immediately dispatched to the area to assist in the rescue and rehabilitation efforts, according to Lieutenant Commander Armand Balilo, PCG spokesman.

Balilo said one team of Coast Guard Special Medical Advance Rescue Team (SMART) was likewise dispatched to assist in the on-going disaster response operations.

PCG Search and Rescue Vessel BRP Davao del Norte (SARV-3504) had been directed to conduct coastal patrol along the shorelines of affected coastal barangays.