Up to 2,500 people are still missing in the Philippines after a mudslide wiped out a village.
19 people are known to have died and 83 have been found alive but rescue officials said thousands more are still buried in the mud.
A huge wave of mud swept over the village of Guinsaugon on the island of Leyte. Hundreds of homes and a school were buried by the slide, said to be 10m deep.
Rescue workers have been working up to their waists in mud but searches have been called off because of the fear of further landslides.
The Philippine navy and Coast Guard have been ordered to the area to help with the rescue and to provide medical care.
Only a small number of bodies have been recovered so far, and the full extent of the incident remains unclear as poor conditions are hampering attempts to reach the village.
Reports from the scene said only a few houses were still standing among the hundreds that were once there in the village, which is home to 3-4,000 people. Heavy rains had been battering the area for about ten days.
More than 20 people were killed in landslides earlier this week on the island and residents had repeatedly been advised to leave the area.
Mining and logging in the region are suspected to have contributed to the scale of the disaster and relief groups are calling for drinking water, food, blankets and body bags to be brought to the scene.
It is understood a mild earthquake, measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale, hit the region this morning and it is thought the tremor combined with the heavy rain had hastened the landslide.
The Philippines is lashed by about 20 typhoons each year, including a series of storms in late 2004 that left about 1,800 people dead in provinces northeast of the capital, Manila.
Lenihan announces aid of €100,000
Conor Lenihan TD, Minister of State for Development Cooperation and Human Rights, has this evening announced funding of €100,000 to assist in the relief effort in the Philippines.
The Minister said: 'An entire community has been devastated without warning by this appalling tragedy. I am making funding available to the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies in support of the relief effort.'
He was speaking after the Irish Red Cross launched an appeal for funds to help those affected by the landslide disaster.
