The Philippine government has ordered a stop to all illegal mining in six mountainous northern provinces in a drastic decision to prevent more tragedies after Typhoon Mangkhut set off landslides that trapped dozens of poor people, including small-scale miners.
Environmental Secretary Roy Cimatu announced the ban during a news conference Monday in Benguet province, where 54 of the 65 typhoon deaths in the Philippines occurred. Mangkhut hit the Philippines on Saturday and Hong Kong on Sunday before weakening to a tropical storm Monday in inland China, where four have died.
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Rescuers continue to search for victims buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers carry a body recovered from a landslide caused by Typhoon Mangkhut in Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
A Filipino miner waits for news as recovery operations continue at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers push water along a drainage as operations continue at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers retrieve a body they recovered at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
People clean up debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
People walk past fallen trees caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
A man walks past a fallen tree caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
Debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut is seen outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left dozens dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
People walk past debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left dozens dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
Rescuers continue searching for victims believed to be buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers continue searching for victims believed to be buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Cimatu said army troops and police would be deployed to enforce the ban, which covers about 10,000 small miners in Benguet's Itogon town, where dozens of poor miners and their families were feared buried by a landslide.
Rescuers continue to search for victims buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers carry a body recovered from a landslide caused by Typhoon Mangkhut in Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
A Filipino miner waits for news as recovery operations continue at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers push water along a drainage as operations continue at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers retrieve a body they recovered at the site where victims are believed to have been buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
People clean up debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
People walk past fallen trees caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
A man walks past a fallen tree caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left at least 28 dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
Debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut is seen outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left dozens dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
People walk past debris caused by Typhoon Mangkhut outside a housing estate on the waterfront in Hong Kong, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Hong Kong and southern China hunkered down as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lash the densely populated coast. The biggest storm of the year left dozens dead from landslides and drownings as it sliced through the northern Philippines. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)
Rescuers continue searching for victims believed to be buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
Rescuers continue searching for victims believed to be buried by a landslide after Typhoon Mangkhut lashed Itogon, Benguet province, northern Philippines on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that at the height of the typhoon's onslaught Saturday afternoon, dozens of people, mostly miners and their families, rushed into an old three-story building in the village of Ucab. The building, a former mining bunkhouse that had been transformed into a chapel, was obliterated when part of a mountain slope collapsed. (AP PhotoAaron Favila)
