|TOP|Last week a number of aid agencies launched a huge relief effort to combat the aftermath of the catastrophic Philippine mudslide which hit a school and hundreds of homes.

It is estimated by the Red Cross and army officials that between 1000 and 2500 people have been killed. The mudslide happened when a rain soaked mountainside collapsed on the isolated village of Guinsaugon, Leyte Island close to the town of St Bernard.

Despite official estimates, it is possible that the final death toll could be significantly higher as there were an estimated 3000 people in the village at the time of the mudslide.

A number of Christian agencies are working in the area to help tackle the disaster, however, the thickness of the mud is making rescue operations difficult.

The disaster-management co-ordinator for World Vision in the Philippines, Boy Bersales said that: “The whole village is under about 100 feet of mud and the whole situation is both physically and emotionally devastating,” reports the Church of England Newspaper.

|AD|At the moment six hundred people are being aided by World Vision through three separate relief teams. The Head of Emergencies, Ian Gray said that 80% of the population of St Bernard (about 1400 people) were being housed in two churches and two schools.

World Vision claimed that it may be necessary to evacuate as many as 1700 people. There have also been two reported cases of chicken pox breaking out in the camp.

The Salvation Army has also been operating in the area. They have a church in the area and have been providing spiritual consolation, ministry and counselling those affected by the disaster. They have also begun moving food and mosquito nets into the vicinity.

Rosette Larias, governor of Southern Leyte said that the school buried by the mudslide was full of children and had about 100 women celebrating the anniversary of a local women’s group inside.

Speaking to CNN, Leyte said: “I don’t see any homes, I don’t see any buildings. It’s just mud.”

She also said that the softness of the mud made it difficult to dig for survivors.

‘Floating hospitals’ in the form of coastguard vessels have been sent to help the area, as have two helicopters. A C-13 transport plane will be used to send more equipment to the area, for example sniffer dogs, shovels and body bags.

However the head of the Philippine Red Cross, Richard Gordon said that he was not optimistic about finding many more survivors.