At least nine people were dead or missing in massive floods in the Philippine capital as a tropical storm lashed the eastern side of the country yesterday, reports said.
A wall, weakened by floodwaters, collapsed in a suburb of Manila, killing a father and child, while four children drowned in a flood as three others were swept away by a swollen river outside the capital, radio station DZMM said.
The storm, bearing winds of 85kph with gusts of 100kph, hit the main island of Luzon near the town of Infanta at about 2am, moving west at 19kph, the weather station said.
Flooding was reported in many districts and on roads reported with waters in some areas reaching as high as the rooftops of one-story buildings, the civil defense office said.
As many as 700 people were forced to flee their homes and take refuge in evacuation centers due to rising waters, the office said. However, local officials interviewed on radio said they were moving to evacuate more of their residents.
Huge traffic jams clogged the roads in the capital as floodwaters caused many vehicles to stall.
Officials made appeals on air, asking rescue agencies to send rubber boats to rescue stranded people.
The second level of a three-step storm alert was raised over the eastern provinces of Luzon while the first-level alert was hoisted over Metropolitan Manila and surrounding areas, the government said.
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