Typhoon Gaemi sinks huge swathes of Philippine capital; at least 14 killed

Heavy rain set off by Typhoon Gaemi caused flooding in large swathes of the Philippines’ sprawling capital on July 24, drowning streets, homes, schools and hospitals in up to chest-deep floodwaters and forcing tens of thousands to evacuate to temporary shelters.

The local disaster response agency said the typhoon and seasonal rain in recent days have left at least 14 dead and displaced over 600,000, with some 35,000 in evacuation centres.

Images posted on social media and local media reports show floods blanketing main roads, city streets and small alleys across Metro Manila and in the surrounding suburbs.

Metro Manila spans 16 cities that are home to some 13 million people.

People can be seen holding flimsy umbrellas and wading across flooded roads that were no longer passable to most vehicles.

One photo shows a group of men standing atop a bus stranded in chest-deep water.

Some rivers and creeks were reported to have already burst their banks. Residents near these waterways said in online posts that the flood waters had left them stranded on the second floor or on the roofs of their homes.

In one video posted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a small car is seen being swept away by fast-moving water along a heavily flooded street in Meycauayan city, north of Manila.

Ms Jeanie Sandoval, mayor of Malabon city in Metro Manila, said floods had inundated almost all districts in her city.

At least four people – a pregnant woman and three children – were killed in a landslide on July 23 in the mountainside town of Agoncillo, in Batangas province, two hours south of Manila.

A woman and her five-year-old child were killed, also in a landslide, in Pampanga province, north of the capital.

They took the death toll from heavy rain in recent days to at least 14.

Ms Peachy de Leon, a disaster official in Manila, told AFP: “Many areas are flooded, so we have rescuers deployed all over the city. There is an overwhelming number of people asking for help.

“We were told last night the rain will not hit us. Then the rain suddenly poured, so we were quite shocked. There is an ongoing search and rescue now.”

Gaemi swept past northern Philippines as it headed towards Taiwan, enhancing the south-west monsoon rains typical for this time of the year.

Senior weather specialist Glaiza Escullar told AFP: “Usually, the peak of the rainy season is July and August, and it so happens that there is a typhoon in the eastern waters of the Philippines that enhances the south-west monsoon.”

The typhoon and resulting floods shut financial markets, schools and offices on the main island of Luzon, and forced the cancellation of flights and ferries across the country.

In response to The Straits Times’ queries, Singapore Airlines said its flights between Singapore and Manila earlier on July 24 were not affected. Jetstar Asia also said its Manila-bound flights were on schedule.

Cebu Pacific cancelled its flights between Manila and Singapore on July 25.

Mr Chuck Watson, a disaster modeller at Enki Research, told Bloomberg: “This is shaping up to be a significant disaster in an economically and politically sensitive area.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered “all concerned agencies to provide swift assistance to all those affected”.

The interior ministry recommended that Metro Manila be placed under a “state of calamity”.

The widespread flooding in the capital region brings to mind the massive disaster that trailed Typhoon Ketsana in September 2009.

That typhoon left 464 people dead when it swept across the Philippines, setting off one of the worst floods to hit Metro Manila.