Tragedy in Benguet: 2 Dead in Devastating Landslide as Tropical Storm Maymay Impacts Over 80,000

LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET — At least two people were killed and another was seriously injured on Thursday, August 6, 2026, after a massive landslide crushed a local eatery in Barangay Shilan, La Trinidad, as Tropical Storm Maymay and the southwest monsoon (habagat) unleashed torrential rains across Luzon.

The disaster struck around 9:00 a.m. when waterlogged soil and debris cascaded down a hillside into the kitchen section of a roadside eatery where staff had taken shelter. Continuous downpours over four consecutive days had severely saturated the mountain slope, causing a retaining wall to collapse under intense pressure.

First responders from the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and local volunteers rushed to the scene. Rescuers pulled one surviving worker from the mud and rubble, transferring him to Benguet General Hospital in serious condition. The bodies of two other kitchen crew members were recovered shortly after.

"The area has a retaining wall, but it caved in after three straight days of rain. It is the first time a landslide has occurred in this specific spot," stated Benguet Provincial Police Office Director Col. Dionisio Bonoy.

Tropical Storm Maymay made landfall in Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, before weakening into a tropical depression as it crossed the rugged terrain of Northern Luzon. Combined with the southwest monsoon, the weather disturbance triggered widespread flooding, rockfalls, and road blockages across multiple provinces.

Key thoroughfares, including Kennon Road in Benguet, were closed to traffic due to severe risks of falling rocks and debris, isolating key mountain corridors.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), more than 80,000 people have been affected by the combined storm systems across the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and parts of Mindanao. Thousands of displaced families are currently housed in temporary evacuation centers.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local municipal agencies have begun distributing immediate financial relief and emergency food packs to affected residents and the families of the landslide victims. Local officials continue to urge citizens living near mountain slopes and riverbanks to strictly observe evacuation orders as saturated ground conditions keep landslide risks high.