Heavy flooding as Philippine typhoon death toll climbs to 11

16 Dec, 2015

MANILA: Rescuers on speedboats hauled rain-soaked residents off rooftops in the Philippine countryside on Wednesday after Typhoon Melor killed at least 11 people and cut power for millions.

The typhoon, which tore in off the Pacific Ocean on Monday afternoon, caused widespread flooding across central islands and also dumped heavy rain on the sprawling capital of Manila.

The worst appeared to be over on Wednesday with the typhoon drifting into the South China Sea.

But farming and fishing communities on Mindoro island south of Manila were still enduring heavy flooding.

Floodwaters rose sharply across parts of Mindoro on Tuesday night, forcing residents to climb onto the roofs of their homes, according to Alfonso Umali, governor of Oriental Mindoro province on the eastern half of the island which has a total population of 1.2 million.

Coast guard personnel on speed boats hauled 21 people, including 14 children and a three-month-old baby, from rooftops in Calapan, the capital of Oriental Mindoro, on Tuesday night.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2015

Read Comments