World | Philippines
State of calamity in Metro Manila
Thousands remain stranded on rooftops in the worst flooding in Manila and neighbouring areas in the Philippines in more than four decades.
- By Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent
- Published: 09:13 September 26, 2009
- Image Credit: AP
- Rescuers prepare to carry a boy down a ladder after the family spent the night on the roof of their house to escape rising floodwaters in Manila's Marikina on Sunday.
Manila: Rescuers stepped up their efforts in the northern Philippines on Sunday, a day after a tropical storm left more than 144 people dead and missing in the worst flooding in Manila and neighbouring areas in more than four decades.
The resulting landslides and flooding have left at least 52 people dead and 23 others missing, said Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, also chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.
Distress calls and e-mails from thousands of residents in metropolitan Manila and their worried relatives flooded TV and radio stations overnight. Army troops, police and civilian volunteers have rescued more than 5,100 people.
The government has called for international help for those marooned by the floods; asking for food, water and clothing.
Tropical Storm Ketsana, also known as typhoon Ondoy, swamped entire towns, set off landslides and shut down Manila's airport for several hours.
Many people were still waiting to be rescued on the roof of their houses in flooded villages, the military said.
"The flooding was so grave it inundated many communities for the first time," said provincial disaster-response official Loel Malonzo of hilly Rizal province, where more than 40 people drowned or perished in landslides.
"People were trapped in their houses. Some who tried to escape were swept away by the flood," Malonzo said.
ABS-CBN television showed a dramatic video of more than a dozen people perched on roofs of damaged houses being swept away by the suburban Marikina River.
They smashed against the pillars of a bridge and were separated from each other in the rampaging river. It was unclear whether they were rescued.
Metro Manila has been placed under a state of calamity as wide areas of Luzon and Metro Manila were submerged in water, some as deep as a metre and a half as typhoon Ondoy lashed the country.
Defence Secretary Teodoro said on Sunday that soldiers, police and civilian volunteers have rescued more than 4,000 people, many of them on rooftops to escape rising floodwaters.
Teodoro said the massive rescue will intensify as the weather begins to clear and floodwaters recede on Sunday.
He announced that 26 areas have been placed under the state of calamity aside from Metro Manila which was among the hardest hit.
Those placed under the state of calamity were the provinces of Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Viscaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Camarines Norte.
Aside from announcing stepped up rescue operations, declaring an area under a state of calamity will allow the local government administrations to release funds necessary for aid and rehabilitation.
In Metro Manila, millions of people were affected by unexpected flash floods.
Vehicular traffic ground to a halt as cars got stranded in water and the only means of getting around the city was by wading through the floods and using the only remaining mass transport in service, the Metro Rail Transit System (MRT).
The Philippine National Police and Armed Forces deployed military trucks to ferry passengers stranded after early morning rains, but the level of water was too deep in some areas to carry out rescue operations.
In Malabon City which is perennially waterlogged whenever there are heavy rains, residents had to wade through chest-deep waters to get to safer areas. "This is the worst flooding I have seen here," said Ignacio Panares, 63, a resident of Catmon village.
Overnight heavy rains were compounded by massive flooding at the Angat Dam, La Mesa and Ambuklao Dams in Bulacan province and eastern areas near Metro Manila.
Incessant rains had not only paralysed the capital region but also made it impossible to travel to other parts of the country as sea travel had been stopped temporarily.
Schools will be closed on Monday because most of them are being used as temporary shelters for more than 5,000 displaced families.
Airport operations returned to normal and power supply was slowly being restored.
- With input from agencies
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