MANILA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people have been killed in monsoon rains that triggered floods and landslides in many parts of the Philippines, a government disaster agency said on Wednesday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the eight victims, mostly from the northern and central Philippines, died from drowning, buried alive by landslides, electrocuted or hit by felled trees.
Moreover, the government disaster agency said a 17-year-old boy remains missing in Rizal province, which lies in the west of Manila.
Around 1.2 million people have been affected by monsoon rains triggered by at least three tropical storms that battered the Philippines since early last week. Nearly 480,000 people have also been displaced, the agency said.
The NDRRMC said the cost to agriculture damaged by heavy floods caused by monsoon rains has reached 1.37 billion pesos (25.7 million U.S. dollars).
At least three tropical cyclones battered the Philippines in recent weeks. Hundreds of areas in the northern and central Philippines were flooded due to heavy rains brought by the tropical cyclones, though many of them have already seen water subside.
According to the Philippine authorities, five people died because of days of heavy rains until last Sunday.
Rainy season in the Philippines occurs from June to October. The Philippines is a tropical country and experiences around 20 typhoons every year.
