"We have no contact with village officials"
MANILA, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A mudslide triggered by heavy rain has buried dozens of houses in a farming community in the southern Philippines, local disaster officials said on Friday.
Soldiers and emergency workers rushed to a remote village in the Tubod region in Lanao del Norte province, expecting to find casualties from landslides and massive flooding, local disaster official Roy Secuya told journalists.
"We have no contact with village officials because power and communications lines were down due to a tropical storm," Secuya said. "There were unconfirmed reports of deaths but we still do not have the numbers."
Heavy equipment was being sent to the area, he added.
Tropical storm Tembin has weakened after hitting land on the island of Mindanao. Local officials said seven people had been killed by flooding in Lanao del Sur province.
(Reporting By Manuel Mogato; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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