Philippine storm victims feared tsunami, ran toward mudslide

Victims of a huge mudslide set off by a storm in a coastal Philippine village that had once been devastated by a killer tsunami mistakenly thought a tidal wave was coming, ran to higher ground and were buried alive by the boulder-laden deluge, an official said on Sunday.

At least 18 bodies, including those of children, have been dug out by rescuers in the vast muddy mound that now covers much of Kusiong village in southern Maguindanao.The province was among the hardest-hit by Tropical Storm Nalgae which blew out of the northwestern Philippines early on Sunday.

Nalgae, which had a vast rain band, left at least 61 people dead in eight provinces and one city in the Philippine archipelago, including in Kusiong, and a trail of destruction in one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.