Thousands flee homes as monsoon rains bring deadly floods to Philippine capital

Three people have died after heavy rains from a storm and the seasonal monsoon caused widespread flooding in the Philippine capital Manila and nearby provinces.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Sep 2014, 23:23 BST

Authorities said more than 470,000 residents of Metro Manila and other provinces were affected in inundated communities. At least 37,000 people in the capital were displaced in one of the city’s worst floods in recent years.

More than 2,700 people in nearby provinces have also been displaced by the floods.

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A man drowned in Caloocan City, a two-year-old girl drowned in nearby Quezon City and the body of a 68-year-old woman was recovered after she was swept away by floodwaters in Rizal province.

In some areas, water engulfed the first floor of homes, sending residents scrambling to upper floors and onto roofs.

The rain and an unrelated radar malfunction combined to divert, delay or cancel dozens of domestic and international flights at Manila’s airport.

Officials say that even if the rain stopped, waters from the mountain would continue coming down local rivers and cause more flooding.

Water from a dam just north of the capital also started to spill into a river that runs through some densely populated areas, threatening to inundate more villages, according to officials.