Manila: Landslides and heavy rains caused by the storm in northern Philippines have caused flooding in many areas till Monday and at least nine people have died. In view of the situation, the authorities have closed the schools and government work has also had to be suspended. According to the Meteorological Bureau, Tropical Storm ‘Yagi’ was 115 km northeast of Infanta City in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, as of Monday afternoon, it hit at a speed of 75 km per hour and its speed reached 90 km per hour.
Slums hit by landslides
The storm, known locally as Enteng, is moving northwest at a speed of 15 km per hour near the eastern coast of the main northern region of Luzon. Disaster mitigation officer Enrilo Bernardo Jr. said at least three people, including a pregnant woman, died Monday when a landslide hit two small shanties on a hill in Antipolo town in Rizal province, west of the capital. Four other villagers drowned in overflowing streams, he said.
Floodwaters enter several areas
National police spokesman Colonel Gene Fajardo told reporters without giving details that two more people were killed and 10 others injured in landslides triggered by the storm in central Philippines. Police said two locals were killed in bad weather in Naga town in eastern Camarines Sur province, where floodwaters have entered several areas. A typhoon warning was issued for a large part of Luzon, the country’s most populous region, including the metropolitan area of Manila. Schools and most government offices have been closed here due to stormy weather.
Warnings issued to people
A siren sounded at dawn on the crowded banks of the Marikina River on the eastern edge of the capital, warning thousands of people to be ready to evacuate in case the river’s water level rises and the river swells due to heavy rains. Coast guard personnel used boats and ropes to rescue and evacuate dozens of villagers trapped by floods in the provinces of Cavite, south of Manila, and Northern Samar in the country’s central region, the coast guard said.