Heavy rains continue to batter Manila and
surrounding areas
Published on Aug 20, 2013
9:07 AM

Residents wade through a flooded street in Binakayan township, Cavite province, south of Manila, Philippines on Monday,
Aug 19, 2013. Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding farming areas on
Tuesday, raising fears this week's monsoon death toll would climb well above three. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA (AFP) - Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding
farming areas on Tuesday, raising fears this week's monsoon death toll would climb well above three.
Schools and government offices in Manila and many neighbouring regions were closed for a second
consecutive day, as floods swelled high into urban as well as rural homes.
The state weather agency warned the rain would continue through Tuesday, issuing its top level red alert
for Manila and neighbouring provinces.
The red alert means "serious flooding" is likely in low-lying areas, and more than three centimetres of rain
is expected every hour.
Three people had already been confirmed killed and four others were missing due to the rains, according to
the government's disaster agency's latest tally on Monday night.
Most of the victims were in the mountainous north of the main island of Luzon, more than 200 kilometres
from Manila.
The heavy rains were due to the seasonal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Maring, which
was hovering to the north of the Philippines.
The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the
second half of the year and many of them deadly.
Floods cover more than half of Philippine
capital Manila; at least 7 dead
Published on Aug 20, 2013
12:29 PM
A private guard searches homes to rescue residents trapped in a flooded street at a subdivision in Makati city, east of Manila,
Philippines, on Aug 20, 2013. Officials reported at least seven people dead, 11 injured and four missing as flooding caused
by some of the Philippines' heaviest rains on record submerged more than half the capital on Tuesday. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA (AP) - Flooding caused by some of the Philippines' heaviest rains on record submerged more
than half the capital on Tuesday, turning roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in
homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response for a second
day.
Officials reported at least seven people dead, 11 injured and four missing. The dead included a 5-year-old
boy whose house was hit by a concrete wall that collapsed. His two adult relatives also were injured.
Throughout the sprawling, low-lying capital region of 12 million people, floodwaters made most of the
roads impassable and reached waist- or neck-deep along rivers and creeks. Authorities opened more than
200 evacuation centers in Manila and surrounding provinces filled with tens of thousands of people, Social
Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said. Overall, more than 600,000 people have been affected by the
floods.
"I had to wade through waist-deep flood. I just need to go to the house of my boss ... to get some money,
then go home," said Esteban Gabin, a 45-year-old driver, who was plotting the best route to check on his
family in Pampanga province, northwest of Manila.
"But I may have to swim to reach my home because we live near the Pampanga River, and the flood there
could reach up to neck deep."
The flooding followed two nights of heavy monsoon rains, enhanced by Tropical Storm Trami. The storm
hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with up to 30
millimeters (just over an inch) of rain per hour.
It was forecast to move away from the Philippines toward Taiwan on Wednesday.
In many coastal towns along swollen Lake Laguna, near Manila, and in food-growing riverside provinces,
residents were trapped on rooftops, waded through the streets or drifted on makeshift rafts. Many chose to
stay close to their homes for fear they would be looted if they left. Floodwaters had subsided late Monday
but the night of pounding rains on Tuesday repeated the deluge.
Authorities said that up to 60 percent of the capital region was submerged.
Flooding has become more frequent in Manila because of deforestation of mountains, clogged waterways
and canals where large squatter communities live, and poor urban planning.
"We're surprised by the rainfall. Some areas experienced record levels," said Science Secretary Mario
Montejo.
According to an assessment from the Department of Science and Technology, rainfall reached 600 mm
(23.62 inches) in and around Manila Bay on Sunday alone - more than a month's worth of rain in a day.
That's compared to the disastrous 2009 Typhoon Ketsana, the strongest cyclone to hit Manila in modern
history with 455 mm of rain in 24 hours.
Many domestic and international flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were cancelled. Key roads
leading to the airport are flooded and passengers and crew are inevitably delayed.
The Philippine archipelago is among the most battered by rainstorms in the world. About 20 tropical
cyclones hit the country every year.
Floods recede in Manila as thousands
evacuated
Published on Aug 20, 2013
6:33 PM

Filipinos wade through a flooded street at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug 20,
2013. Flooding caused by some of the Philippines' heaviest rains began receding on Tuesday even as authorities evacuated
thousands of residents along Manila's overflowing rivers and braced for more chaos in outlying provinces. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA (AP) - Flooding caused by some of the Philippines' heaviest rains that submerged more than half
the capital began receding on Tuesday even as authorities evacuated thousands of residents along Manila's
overflowing rivers and braced for more chaos in outlying provinces.
At least eight people have died, including four who drowned north of Manila. The dead included a 5-yearold boy whose house was hit by a concrete wall that collapsed, and a 3-year-old boy who fell into a
swollen river in Mariveles town in Bataan province. Four people are missing.
Throughout the sprawling, low-lying capital region of 12 million people, offices, banks and schools were
closed and most roads were impassable. People stumbled through waist- or neck-deep waters, holding on
to ropes strung from flooded houses.
More than 200 evacuation centres were opened in Manila and surrounding provinces, filled with tens of
thousands of people, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said. Overall, more than 600,000 people
have been affected by the floods.
"I had to wade through waist-deep flood. I just need to go to the house of my boss ... to get some money,
then go home," said Mr Esteban Gabin, a 45-year-old driver, who was plotting the best route to check on
his family in Pampanga province, northwest of Manila. "But I may have to swim to reach my home
because we live near the Pampanga River, and the flood there could reach up to neck deep."
The flooding that covered half of the city receded to 20 per cent, concentrated on Marikina and Paranaque
cities, said Mr Eduardo del Rosario, head of the national disaster council.
In Marikina, where the river breached its banks, authorities started evacuating some 12,000 people to
schools and gymnasiums that were turned into emergency shelters.
As the weather gradually improved in Manila, the concern shifted to provinces outside the capital that were
expected to be drenched as the monsoon travels north.
In Pampanga's rice-producing town of Minalin, more than 200 villagers fled after water from a swollen
river spilled over a dike and began flooding communities amid pounding rains. Villagers scrambled to lay
sandbags on the dike and in front of their houses, said Office of Civil Defence officer Nigel Lontoc.
"The villagers are afraid that the dike may collapse any time," he said by phone.
About 200 members of the Aeta tribe living near the foot of Mount Pinatubo left their homes for fear of
being swept away by a raging river near Botolan township in Zambales province, said Ms Elsa Novo, a
leader of an Aeta federation in the province. She said other family members stayed behind to watch their
property.
Evacuations were also underway around the La Mesa dam, north of Manila, which began overflowing
because of excess water. The waters from the dam flow into the Tullahan River, which passes through
some of the densely populated areas of the capital.
The flooding followed two nights of heavy monsoon rains, enhanced by Tropical Storm Trami. The storm
hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with up to 30
millimeters of rain per hour.
It was forecast to move away from the Philippines toward Taiwan on Wednesday.
In many coastal towns along swollen Lake Laguna, near Manila, and in food-growing riverside provinces,
residents were trapped on rooftops, waded through the streets or drifted on makeshift rafts. Many chose to
stay close to their homes for fear they would be looted if they left.
Flooding has become more frequent in Manila because of deforestation of mountains, clogged waterways
and canals where large squatter communities live, and poor urban planning.
"We're surprised by the rainfall. Some areas experienced record levels," said Science Secretary Mario
Montejo.
According to an assessment from the Department of Science and Technology, rainfall reached 600 mm (23
inches) in and around Manila Bay on Sunday alone - more than a month's worth of rain in a day. That's
compared to the disastrous 2009 Typhoon Ketsana, the strongest cyclone to hit Manila in modern history
with 455 mm of rain in 24 hours.
Many domestic and international flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were cancelled. Key roads
leading to the airport were flooded and passengers and crew were inevitably delayed.
The Philippine archipelago is among the most battered by rainstorms in the world. About 20 tropical
cyclones hit the country every year.
More than 200 dead or missing in China
floods
Published on Aug 20, 2013
12:26 PM
BEIJING (AP) - Heavy rains brought by a typhoon triggered landslides in southern China that buried
homes and vehicles and killed at least 15 people, as the number of dead or missing from recent flooding in
the country surged past 200.
Nine people were reported killed in Hunan province and six in Guangxi, where vehicles were covered in
mud and rocks along a mountain highway, local flood control offices said.
The deaths come after three people died on Sunday in a landslide near the Guangxi city of Wuzhou.
Rains brought by last week's Typhoon Utor have caused severe flooding across Hunan, Guangxi and
neighboring Guangdong province. In Guangdong, 22 people have died and eight were missing in flooding
since Friday.
By Tuesday morning, a total of 105 people were reported dead and 115 missing in the extreme south and
northeast.
In the deadliest incident, torrential rains over the last week caused the Nei River in northeastern Liaoning
province to overflow near the city of Fushun, sweeping away homes, roads and utilities and leaving 54
people dead and 97 missing.
Flooding hits China each summer, but heavy rains have brought greater than usual levels of destruction in
some areas.
Taiwan battens down after warning about
tropical storm
Published on Aug 20, 2013
9:34 PM
Taipei City Government engineering staff move a store booth in preparation for Tropical Storm Trami in Taipei on Tuesday,
Aug 20, 2013. More than 1,000 tourists were evacuated from an island and troops were deployed on Tuesday in preparation
for the possible arrival of the storm. -- PHOTO: AFP
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan evacuated more than 1,000 tourists from an island and deployed troops on
Tuesday in preparation for the possible arrival of Tropical Storm Trami.
The Central Weather Bureau said the storm would bring heavy rain from Tuesday night even if it did not
make landfall.
"Starting from tonight, there will be heavy or very heavy rain in the mountainous areas of the north-east
and west," the bureau said in a statement.
The storm, with gusts up to 126 kilometres per hour, was moving west north-west at a speed of 23
kilometres per hour.
Officials at the bureau said the impact may be felt mostly from Wednesday night through Thursday
morning.
In reaction to the warning, ferries operating between the south-eastern city of Taitung and Green Island
evacuated 1,700 tourists.
Television images showed hundreds of fishing boats packing Suao, a fishing port in the northeast county of
Ilan which is likely to bear the brunt of the storm.
Nearby, the military deployed 300 soldiers and four amphibious rescue vehicles.
In the capital Taipei, residents of some low-lying areas piled up sandbags.
Last month, Typhoon Soulik battered Taiwan with torrential rain and powerful winds, leaving two people
dead and at least 100 injured.
Roofs were ripped from homes, debris and fallen trees littered the streets and some areas were submerged
by floods.