Floods shut down Philippine capital

Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Fung-Wong flooded large swaths of the Philippine capital and outlying provinces on Friday, leaving three dead and displacing tens of thousands, just days after the region had been drenched by a typhoon.

Schools and government offices were shut in Manila as authorities said thousands were evacuated from severely inundated communities, where rapidly flowing waters swirled neck-high in places. Radio stations reported residents taking shelter in the second floor of homes where the water had reached the ceiling of the ground floors.

Flooded streets caused traffic gridlock across the city of 12 million, with many motorists and other commuters unaware of the extent of the flooding due to a lack of reports from local authorities.

Manila airport authorities said the rains and radar problems caused delays and the cancellation of at least 28 domestic flights to and from the northern and central Philippines. At least three international flights heading to Manila were diverted to Clark International Airport, about 60 km northwest of Metro Manila.

Presidential spokeswoman Abigal Valte said that work in government offices in the capital and 15 other provinces has been suspended.

The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended trading, and some banks sent their employees home by noon.

Weather forecaster Dioni Sarmiento said more than 260 mm of rain fell over parts of Metro Manila over a 24-hour period ending early Friday. That was more than half of the amount of rain that caused massive flooding across the sprawling metropolis of 12 million people in 2009.

Just last week, Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the same area, killing eight people and displacing over 366,000.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said some parts of the capital were flooded overnight and residents in a number of slum communities had been evacuated to safety, but added that floodwaters were receding because major drainage pipes had been cleared before the rainy season. He did not say how many have been evacuated in the city.

"Our anti-flood infrastructure has been neglected for a long time," Estrada said. "You go abroad and you see big houses of the rich along clean rivers. But here, the riverbanks teem with squatter colonies, which don't have septic tanks and treat the river like a garbage can."

Zharina Biong, a staffer of the disaster management unit of Marikina, part of Metro Manila, said more than 27,000 people, most of them living near the swollen Marikina River, have been evacuated since dawn on Friday.

The storm, which packed winds of up to 100 km per hour, made landfall in northern Cagayan province around noon Friday. It was expected to leave Philippine territory by Sunday and make a sharp turn northward toward Taiwan and southern Japan.

Residents look out from their home during Tropical Storm Fung-Wong in Pasay, Metro Manila, on Friday. Tropical Storm Fung-Wong dumped heavy rain on the Philippine capital, flooding many parts of the city, shutting schools, government offices and financial markets, and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

(China Daily 09/20/2014 page10)