At least 51 die in Philippine flooding -- Tropical storm causes worst floods in decade

[steven johnson]

Source: CBC News

Rescuers stepped up their efforts in the northern Philippines on Sunday as the skies started to clear a day after a tropical storm tore through and left more than 70 people killed or missing in the worst flooding in more than four decades.

The government declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25 storm-hit provinces, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue, Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said.

The 42.4 centimetres of rain that swamped metropolitan Manila in just 12 hours on Saturday exceeded the 39.2-centimetre average for September, Cruz said, adding that the rainfall broke the previous record of 33.4 centimetres) in a 24-hour period in June 1967.

Ketsana, which packed winds of 85 km/h with gusts of up to 100 km/h, hit land early Saturday, then roared across the main northern Luzon island toward the South China Sea

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/09/27/philippines-typhoon.html

---

Flooding has left 250,000 homeless and the army has rescued 4,000 in the Phillipines as a result of Tropical Storm Ketsana.

[MrModerate]

1. Whoa -- I was just there last week, and I can't imagine how they'd cope with flooding . . .

For the man-in-the-street (i.e., most of the people of Manila), the infrastructure is stretched to the limit and not maintained in a way that makes it at all robust. It's going to take them awhile to recover.

[steven johnson]

3. 80% of Manila was under water

Manilla has a population of 12 million so this was the worst flooding in 40 years.

As of an hour ago the streets were still impassable in Metro Manila.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/279757
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/173291/metro-roads-that-remain-impassable-to-vehicles

FLOOD PRONE AREAS:

[maddezmom]

2. Philippine storm leaves 106 dead and missing

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine officials say the number of dead and missing from Tropical Storm Ketsana has climbed to at least 106 people. The storm set off the worst flooding in the Philippine capital and nearby provinces in more than 42 years.

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said Sunday that army troops, police and civilian volunteers rescued more than 5,000 people — many of them nervously clinging to each other on roofs and on top of passenger buses after the storm struck the previous day.

The newly reported deaths included 12 villagers who died in a landslide in northern Pampanga province and nine others in Bulacan province, most of whom died by drowning. Also, an army soldier and four militiamen drowned while trying to rescue villagers in southern Laguna province

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_flooding