MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered government agencies to hasten relief efforts after a powerful typhoon killed at least seven people and unleashed some of the worst flooding in years in the capital Manila.
Duterte cut short his attendance of a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders to inspect the damage from Typhoon Vamco, moments after a speech during which he urged his counterparts to urgently combat the effects of climate change....
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Typhoon Vamco on Thursday morning lashed the Philippines' northern island of Luzon, including capital Manila, where rivers and dams are at risk of overflowing.
ReplyDeleteVamco, which made landfall Wednesday night on the east coast of Luzon in Quezon province, swept the central area of the island with sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph as well as heavy rains, according to Pagasa, the national meteorological agency. EFE-EPA
Police in the Philippines said the death toll from Typhoon Vamco has risen to 26, with dozens still missing or injured after the storm deluged Manila and its surrounding provinces, triggering some of the capital’s worst floods in years.
ReplyDeleteFourteen people remain missing after Vamco, the 21st typhoon to hit the country this year, swept across Luzon, the Philippines’ main island.
Tens of thousands of homes were submerged by floods, as key highways turned into rivers. Many people remained without power or water supplies on Friday morning, although flood levels had started to recede in parts of the badly hit Marikina suburb on Friday morning.
Typhoon Vamco, which swept through the center of the Philippines island of Luzon early Thursday, has left at least 39 people dead, 22 missing and 40 injured, according to the armed forces Friday.
ReplyDeleteThe government's preliminary count currently stands at 14 dead and 14 missing, although presidential spokesman, Harry Roque, warned at a press conference that the figures will increase as reports of victims are verified. EFE-EPA