At least three people died and six were missing after a major storm caused widespread flooding in and around the Philippine capital yesterday, forcing schools, government offices and businesses to shut down.
The tropical depression, which left some people wading through chest-deep waters outside Manila, was the latest to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago, which endures about 20 such storms each year.
Most of the dead and missing were poor people forced to live in identified “danger zones” despite government warnings of the risks they face during storms.
Photo:Reuters
“Our local authorities had continuously warned them that their place was really prone to landslides, but they insisted on staying,” civil defense officer Ronnie Mateo said after the rain caused a landslide that fatally buried two teenage brothers just east of Manila.
A 12-year-old girl drowned in a rain-swollen river in a Manila suburb, city officials said.
Tropical Storm Doksuri hit the eastern town of Mauban before moving northwest across the main island of Luzon and passing just beside Manila, the Philippine weather bureau said.
In Calamba City south of Manila a flash flood washed away a riverside shanty, leaving six inhabitants, including a two-year-old missing.
“They were informal settlers, living beside a river. There was a flash flood and it washed out their two-story house,” Calamba City disaster management office head Noriel Habana said. “In previous floods, we had pre-emptive evacuation. It just so happened it was a flash flood and they had no time to react.”
Twenty-two passengers of a bus stranded in floodwaters were rescued in Quezon province, officials said.
Typhoon Talim was yesterday 865km east of the Philippines’ northern tip and moving toward Taiwan.
Talim is due to make landfall on Taiwan late today and officials there were especially concerned about the risk of mudslides in mountainous parts of the nation.
The central government is contacting mountain village wardens, arranging free evacuations to shelters, monitoring rivers and mudslide-prone areas.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old