| Philippines to dismantle deadly garbage dump MANILA - A vast rubbish dump in the northern Philippines which collapsed killing several people during super typhoon Nanmadol will be relocated, authorities said Tuesday. The government raised the total death toll from the typhoon to 22 dead and 12 missing after more fatality reports from isolated areas -- up from 16 deaths on Monday. The collapse of the Irisan open dump in the mountain resort of Baguio accounted for three deaths, one missing and one injured, said Olivia Luces, regional head of the civil defence office. "The city government has decided to look for an alternative area for an appropriate dumping site," Luces told AFP. "The settlers below the collapsed retaining wall will be evacuated." http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/50365/%E2%80%98mina%E2%80%99-evacuees-return-home Luces said the city of 253,000 people had been using the open dump, located on the side of a mountain, for decades and informal settlers later put up shanties below the wall that marked the lower edge of the dump. Rescuers estimate some 1,500 tonnes of compacted rubbish slid down the mountainside after floodwaters eroded the base of the wall. Luces said the immediate priority was to truck the dislodged rubbish to another town that would be willing to host a new dump. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 43,000 people remained at evacuation centres across the north on Tuesday. Nanmadol unleashed floods, landslides, tornadoes, sea and land accidents; caused power and telecommunications cuts, blocked roads and wreaking extensive damage to crops, it said in its latest updated report. Named after an ancient site in Micronesia, the typhoon weakened after clipping the main Philippine island of Luzon and has moved towards Taiwan and China. An average of 20 storms and typhoons, many of them deadly, hit the Philippines annually. The last deadly storms, Nock-ten and Muifa, left at least 70 dead when they hit in July. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/50365/%E2%80%98mina%E2%80%99-evacuees-return-home Pictures: http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2011/08/photos-typhoon-nanmadol-floods-homes-in-taiwan-heads-for-china/#name%20here |