Landslide leaves girl dead, two others wounded in Ilocos Norte

A 17-year-old girl was killed and two others hurt in the landslide that struck a town in Ilocos Norte on Friday night amid heavy rains spawned by Storm Ineng.

GMA News stringer Dennis Gabriel Alipio reported that the fatality, identified as Pauleen Joy Corpuz, 17, was sleeping with her two cousins (ages 9 and 11) when rain-soaked ground and loose rocks slipped down, covering their house in Barangay Surong in the town of Pasuquin, crushing the victim under debris.

Corpuz’ two cousins were wounded in the incident and have been rescued, the report added.

The Ilocos Norte Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office identified the injured as Princess Shalane Trumpo, 11, and John Lloyd Trumpo, 9.

A local police official was quoted as saying that the landslide occurred amid heavy rains from Storm Ineng, adding that rescue and retrieval operations proved to be tough job as logs also fell on the house.

Early on Saturday afternoon, Laoag City, also in Ilocos Norte, was placed under state of calamity due to severe flooding from the storm's heavy rains, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, OCD Region 1 Director Melchito Castro said the assessment on barangays and residents affected by the flooding in several areas was still ongoing. —LBG/KG, GMA News