Manila, Jul 25 (AP) Thousands of residents fled flooded communities and overflowing rivers after torrential rains in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces on Saturday killed at least one villager, officials said.
Officials said they are struggling to open more emergency shelters to create social distancing among displaced residents and prevent evacuation camps from turning into hotspots of COVID-19 infections.
In the inaccessible city of Marikina in the capital region, about 15,000 residents were evacuated overnight as water in a major river rose alarmingly.
“This situation will be very difficult if there is not a permanent solution to the floods, especially now with the threat from the delta variant,” Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro told ABS CBN News, referring to the highly contagious COVID-19 viral strain that has hit the country has been found.
Teodoro said several residents were evacuated overnight from flood-prone villages in Marikina, leaving them unable to sleep. He attributed the frequent floods in his city to illegal logging in the surrounding mountains and heavy siltation in the Marikina River.
In the mountainous northern town of Baguio, a resident died Friday afternoon after the taxi she was traveling in fell down a tree, police said, injuring two other people in the taxi. Days of monsoon rains have flooded the northern Philippines, causing flooding in low-lying areas and minor landslides.
Forecasters said Typhoon In-fa, which churned over the country’s east coast and lashed Taiwan before drifting toward China, has intensified seasonal rains.
A cargo boat capsized after being hit by strong waves on Saturday near a port in the city of Pio Duran in Albe province, southeast of Manila. The Coast Guard said police, firefighters and villagers rescued 10 of its crew members, who used a long rope to drag the overturned boat closer to the shore.
Coast Guard personnel rescued several residents trapped in their homes from rising floodwaters on Friday in the town of Naujan in Mindoro Oriental Province, south of Manila. As they were taking the villagers to waist-high water, the emergency team held themselves on a rope to protect themselves from the current.
In addition to the seasonal monsoon rains, about 20 thunderstorms and storms hit the Philippines each year. The country is also located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. (AP) India
(This story is published as part of an auto-generated Syndicate wire feed. Headline or body have not been edited by ABP Live.)
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