Flooding eases after killing 16 in Luzon  

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

MANILA (4th Update, 6:56 p.m.) -- Widespread flooding that killed at least 16 people, battered a million others and paralyzed the Philippine capital briefly eased Wednesday, allowing rescuers on rubber boats to reach a large number of distressed residents still marooned in submerged villages.

In its 3 p.m. Wednesday bulletin, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 16 persons were reported dead -- nine of whom were victims of a landslide incident in Lower Bayanihan, Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City and one from Valenzuela City due to drowning, three were from Pampanga, one from Zambales and two from Batangas province.
The NDDRMC added that four people were injured, 80,189 families were affected and 394,844 persons were evacuated.
Government forecasters said the monsoon rains that overflowed major dams and rivers crisscrossing Manila and surrounding provinces would gradually abate and lead to sunny weather later this week after 12 days of relentless downpours.
The deluge that began late Sunday was the worst since Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, when hundreds died in rampaging flash floods.
"We're still on a rescue mode," NDRRMC chief Benito Ramos said. "Floods are receding in many areas but people are still trapped on their roofs."
Ramos said the massive flooding turned half of Manila into "a water world" on Monday evening and into Tuesday. At least 16 people died.
More than 1.2 million people were affected by the deluge, including 783,000 who fled from their inundated homes. With the receding floodwaters, some of the displaced have started returning to their homes but others stayed put despite the hard conditions in emergency shelters as rain clouds again darkened the sky Wednesday afternoon.
Carmen Empesao said she panicked and left with her three grandchildren when waist-deep floodwaters swamped her home in the hard-hit city of Marikina.
"We fled without any food and the clothes we managed to grab were wet and cannot be worn," Empesao, 60, told The Associated Press in an evacuation center teeming with 3,000 displaced.
Rescue efforts shifted into high gear Wednesday, with more than 130 emergency crewmen from two provinces reaching Metro Manila of 12 million people to help their overwhelmed teams, including police and soldiers.
Rescuers used rubber boats and ropes to navigate flooded streets where many people climbed on rooftops to escape neck-deep waters.
Food and drinking water were in short supply because of impassable roads. President Benigno Aquino III distributed food packs in flood-hit communities south of Manila.
Ramos said he was overwhelmed by the extent of the flooding when he flew aboard a helicopter with Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin for an inspection Wednesday, although he added that water in many areas was beginning to recede.
"In some areas, I could not tell the sea from the flooded villages," he said.
Manila was drenched with more than half of a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours starting Monday. A typhoon in eastern China that has helped intensify the southwest monsoon in the Philippines blew further into the Chinese mainland, prompting Filipino forecasters to predict better weather the rest of the week.
"We may see the sun tomorrow (Thursday)," said Glaiza Escullar, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecaster.
She added that heavy but brief downpours may still sporadically drench the coastal capital.
Although heavy rains may ease, Escullar warned that up to three storms or typhoons were expected to lash the country this month.
At the height of the flooding, many residents called radio and TV stations desperately asking to be rescued. TV footage showed rescuers dangling on ropes to bring children and other residents to safety from a rooftop.
Vehicles and even heavy trucks struggled to navigate water-clogged roads, where hundreds of thousands of commuters were stranded.
The government suspended work and classes Tuesday but most offices opened Wednesday. Traffic was still light as workers began clearing roads of debris, trash and fallen trees.
In 2009, massive flooding spawned by a typhoon devastated Manila and surrounding areas, killing hundreds. (AP/With Sunnex)

Source: Sunstar.com.ph

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