Torrential rains from a typhoon Soala lash Philippines
Half of Manila was under water as torrential rain paralysed the city, sweeping away houses, stranding residents on rooftops and triggering a landslide.
Typhoon Soala struck the country over a week ago, and to continue upto Wednesday bringing incessant downpours that caused widespread flooding and landslides.Monsoon rains continue to lash parts of the country, including the capital Manila. Weather officials say the city has had more than 30 millimeters of rain per hour since Monday evening.
The Marikina River in the northeastern part of the city has flooded, leaving houses and stores in the suburbs inundated.Disaster management authorities say about 270,000 people are taking shelter at schools, gyms and other facilities.The military and police are using trucks and boats to rescue stranded residents.Torrential rains from a typhoon and the seasonal monsoon have left at least 53 people dead in the central Philippines.Schools, financial markets and most government and private offices were shut as key roadways in the capital - a city of some 15 million people were submerged by waters that in some areas reached neck-deep. "If we put it in a percentage, at least 50 per cent of Metro Manila is flooded," Gine Nievarez from the state weather service told the news agency. As local television flashed live footage of rampaging rivers carrying off houses and residents marooned on the roofs of their homes, President Benigno Aquino said the government was doing everything it could to help. "Everybody who is supposed to do something is doing what he is supposed to do," he told reporters after meeting with civil defence officials. Bad weather from seasonal southwest monsoons has been pounding Manila and nearby areas for over a week.Meteorologists said the crisis in the capital came as over half a month's rain fell on the city in 24 hours. x-small;">The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that more than 800,000 people had been affected, with 18,600 in government evacuation centres and some 231,000 seeking refuge with friends or relatives.Tuesday's deaths brought the number of people killed by the monsoon rains across the Philippines to 68 over the past week, according to civil defence officials. Nine people from the same family were killed when a landslide struck a slum in the north of the city, officials said. "The rain softened the soil and four houses were buried," said Maribel Mendoza of the local public safety office.In nearby provinces also hit by floods, four people drowned in Bulacan and two were killed in Batangas. Manila's population includes millions of squatters, who were forced to flee the huge shantytowns lining rivers and sewers overnight for the safety of schools, gymnasiums and government buildings.
Typhoon Soala struck the country over a week ago, and to continue upto Wednesday bringing incessant downpours that caused widespread flooding and landslides.Monsoon rains continue to lash parts of the country, including the capital Manila. Weather officials say the city has had more than 30 millimeters of rain per hour since Monday evening.
The Marikina River in the northeastern part of the city has flooded, leaving houses and stores in the suburbs inundated.Disaster management authorities say about 270,000 people are taking shelter at schools, gyms and other facilities.The military and police are using trucks and boats to rescue stranded residents.Torrential rains from a typhoon and the seasonal monsoon have left at least 53 people dead in the central Philippines.Schools, financial markets and most government and private offices were shut as key roadways in the capital - a city of some 15 million people were submerged by waters that in some areas reached neck-deep. "If we put it in a percentage, at least 50 per cent of Metro Manila is flooded," Gine Nievarez from the state weather service told the news agency. As local television flashed live footage of rampaging rivers carrying off houses and residents marooned on the roofs of their homes, President Benigno Aquino said the government was doing everything it could to help. "Everybody who is supposed to do something is doing what he is supposed to do," he told reporters after meeting with civil defence officials. Bad weather from seasonal southwest monsoons has been pounding Manila and nearby areas for over a week.Meteorologists said the crisis in the capital came as over half a month's rain fell on the city in 24 hours. x-small;">The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said that more than 800,000 people had been affected, with 18,600 in government evacuation centres and some 231,000 seeking refuge with friends or relatives.Tuesday's deaths brought the number of people killed by the monsoon rains across the Philippines to 68 over the past week, according to civil defence officials. Nine people from the same family were killed when a landslide struck a slum in the north of the city, officials said. "The rain softened the soil and four houses were buried," said Maribel Mendoza of the local public safety office.In nearby provinces also hit by floods, four people drowned in Bulacan and two were killed in Batangas. Manila's population includes millions of squatters, who were forced to flee the huge shantytowns lining rivers and sewers overnight for the safety of schools, gymnasiums and government buildings.
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