Deadly Philippine storm triggers landslides and flooding - in pictures

Rescuers search for more than 40 people missing in eastern Philippines after powerful storm triggers landslides

A woman stands with her infant child in front of homes damaged in eastern Samar, Philippines. Rescuers used bulldozers to dig through mountains of mud in the search for more than 40 people missing in the eastern Philippines after landslides triggered by a powerful storm which killed at least 31 at the weekend. Alren Bernonio / AFP Photo

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak was heading out to the South China Sea on Monday afternoon after dragging its way across the Philippines over the weekend. Alren Bernonio / AFP Photo

An aerial view of the flooded areas at Tzu Chi VIllage in Barangay Liloan, Phillipines. Reuters

At least 31 people have been killed most of them from drowning and landslides. Reuters

The island province of Biliran suffered the brunt of the storm as the heavy rains caused landslides that buried many homes and destroyed roads and bridges. Reuters

Rescuers searching for survivors on the island were not optimistic. "There is an assumption that the missing are already dead," Sofronio Dacillo, a provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer said. Reuters

The largely agricultural island of Biliran, with a population of more than 140,000 also had its power system knocked out and its electricity supply was not expected to be restored until Wednesday. Reuters

"It was like two months of rain fell on one day in Biliran. And because of this, the soil really softened and that is also why so many bridges were destroyed," said Roque. EPA

Officials also said more than 270,000 people were affected by the storm, with 191,000 in evacuation centres. EPA

Kai-Tak's winds were not very powerful, but its slow movement across the central islands unleashed heavy rains over a long period, flooding large areas. EPA

Many of the islands hit by Kai-Tak also bore the brunt of Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing.

Rescuers used bulldozers to dig through mountains of mud in the search for more than 40 people missing in the eastern Philippines after a powerful storm triggers flooding and landslides.

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak was heading out to the South China Sea on Monday afternoon after dragging its way across the nation over the weekend, leaving at least 31 people dead, most of them from drowning and landslides, government officials said.

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque also said 49 people were still missing.

The island province of Biliran suffered the brunt of the storm as the heavy rains caused landslides that buried many homes and destroyed roads and bridges.