MANILA: Heavy flooding inundated the Philippines’ capital on Tuesday (Jul 22), forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and schools and government offices to shut, while a fresh storm brewed off the coast.
At least six people have died and another six remain missing after Tropical Storm Wipha skirted the country on Friday, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Many neighbourhoods in Manila woke to find calf-deep pools of floodwater on Tuesday after an overnight downpour swelled the Marikina River.
More than 23,000 people living along the riverbank were evacuated from their homes overnight and moved to schools, village halls and covered courtyards.
About 47,000 more were evacuated from across the capital’s Quezon, Pasig and Caloocan areas, as well as from the main government district.
“Usually, these people are from low-lying areas like beside creeks,” said Wilmer Tan of the Marikina rescue office, who said the river had reached 18m in height.
An elderly woman and her driver were swept down one of the swollen creeks as they attempted to cross a bridge in Caloocan, said John Paul Nietes, an emergency worker.
It was initially hoped that the pair had escaped after the car was recovered with a broken window.
But Caloocan Mayor Dale Gonzalo Malapitan announced one of the bodies had been found.
“We’ve found (the driver),” he told Manila radio station DZMM.
“The body was recovered 4.5km from where the vehicle was swept away … They were unable to bail out.”
