|PIC1|Christian relief ministries have been responding with aid and prayers following the devastating mudslides in the Philippines on Friday morning.

Hope is dwindling of finding anyone alive as search teams continue to battle against deep, shifting mud and rain to find survivors in the farming community of Guinsaugon in Southern Leyte province which was buried completely by a collapsed mountainside.

According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council, 72 bodies have been pulled from the mud so far, with the number of missing villagers standing at 913.

Rescue efforts continue to focus on a school filled with more than 250 children and staff when it was buried by a wall of mud and rocks, although there is no sign of life, according to Congressman Roger Mercado.

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) held an emergency conference Friday to plan their response, while CRWRC-US has already released an initial $10,000 to begin gathering and shipping emergency aid the affected area.

Meanwhile, general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, the Rev. R. Randy Day, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the village of Guinsaugon on the Leyte Island in this time of tragedy and grief. We think especially of the families of the children trapped in the school covered in the mudslide.”

|AD|He added: “The Philippines is part of our United Methodist global family of nations and we are mobilizing to offer tangible signs of compassion and care.”

The United Methodist Committee on Relief is planning to collaborate with partners in the area including the Manila, Davao and Baguio Episcopal areas of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines to provide immediate relief to survivors as well as coordinate a long-term recovery programme.

The Caritas network released a press statement saying that it is "monitoring the disaster that overwhelmed a rural area in the Philippines."

“Our prayers are with the people of Leyte Island and the Philippines as the scope of this tragedy continues to unfold,” said Duncan MacLaren, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis.

“We also wish to assure NASSA-Caritas Philippines of our solidarity and support in responding to the tragedy, especially the victims. Please let us know as soon as possible how we can help,” he said.

Caritas Philippines has reported that it is on the ground to help in the relief effort and to funnel international aid to the local people.

In November 1991, about 6,000 people were killed on Leyte Islands in floods and landslides caused by a tropical storm. More recently, in December 2004, more than 1060 people died in floods and mudslides.