The mayor of a southern Philippine town that was devastated by a powerful earthquake pleaded on Thursday for helicopters to transport food to stave off hunger in several landslide-isolated villages.The 7.8 magnitude offshore quake, one of the strongest to hit the archipelago in half a century, struck on Monday off the southern province of Sarangani and has left at least 47 people dead and 688 injured, with 31 still missing.More than 45,000 people remained displaced, about half in emergency shelters, after the quake damaged more than 12,600 houses in farming towns and cities. Many were still too traumatised to return home due to aftershocks, provincial officials said.Sarangani reported 20 dead from the quake, the highest toll from the affected provinces, mostly due to a landslide that buried houses in the coastal town of Glan, according to the government’s Office of Civil Defence, which deals with major disasters.People living on the mountainside carry their belongings as they evacuate after a landslide following the magnitude 7.8 quake in Barangay Kapatan, Glan on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersGlan Mayor Victor James Yap said power had not been restored to his province and 10 of 31 villages in his town of more than 100,000 people remained inaccessible, mostly due to landslides. He asked the government to immediately deploy air force helicopters to deliver food and other aid to the stricken areas.