Relentless rain yesterday drenched the northern Philippines, triggering floods in Manila and deadly landslides that have killed at least five people as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon.
Rescuers were deployed across the capital to help evacuate people from low-lying homes after downpours turned streets into rivers, trapping vehicles.
People clutched umbrellas as they waded through murky water or used small boats and shopping trolleys to move around.
Photo: AFP
“The disturbance it caused is great. The waters reached the second floor of our house,” said Nora Clet, a Manila resident.
A state of calamity was declared for the capital, unlocking funds for relief efforts, after the state weather forecaster warned of “serious flooding” in some areas.
Government offices were shut and classes suspended, more than 100 domestic and international flights were canceled, and tens of thousands of customers lost power because of the weather.
Some shopping malls and churches offered temporary shelter to those affected.
“Many areas are flooded, so we have rescuers deployed all over the city. There is an overwhelming number of people asking for help,” said Peachy de Leon, a disaster official in suburban Manila. “There is an ongoing search and rescue now.”
Typhoon Gaemi intensified the southwest monsoon rains typical for this time of year, the state weather forecaster said.
“Usually the peak of rainy season is July and August, and it so happens that there is a typhoon in the eastern waters of the Philippines that enhances the southwest monsoon,” senior weather specialist Glaiza Escullar said.
More than 200mm of rain fell in the capital in the 24 hours to yesterday morning, Escullar said.
More heavy rain was expected today.
Landslides killed a pregnant woman and three children in Batangas province, south of Manila, and a woman and her five-year-old child in Pampanga province, north of the capital, police and disaster officials said.
Three major roads were blocked by landslides in the mountainous Benguet province.
That takes the death toll from heavy rains over swaths of the country in the past two weeks to at least 14, as tens of thousands sheltered in evacuation centers.
President Ferdinand Marcos yesterday ordered disaster response officials to ensure they had sufficient stockpiles of food for the hardest-hit areas because “their situation is critical.”
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