Flash floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Fengshen left at least 19 people dead in the Philippines, while an overflowing dam stranded tens of thousands on rooftops, officials said Saturday.
At least 30,000 people living in Iloilo in the central Philippines had scrambled onto rooftops fleeing the rushing water after the man-made dam overflowed, said the city's acting mayor Jed Mabilog. Rescuers have reported that many could be missing or killed, though this could not be independently confirmed, he said.
"I have received a lot of text messages appealing for helicopters, there are many people trapped on the rooftops," Iloilo congressman Serg Biron told DZBB radio. "This is the worst flooding that has hit Iloilo in history."
Fengshen, upgraded from a tropical storm on Friday, swept through the country's center over the weekend, unleashing torrential rains, causing power outages and forcing the evacuations of hundreds of thousands of people. Officials said earlier that flash floods and landslides triggered by the typhoon had left at least 19 people dead.
In the urban centres of Jaro and Iloilo, residents waded through waist-high waters that made roads impassable to vehicles. The National Power Corporation was forced to shut down its power plant in the area, triggering a blackout across the province, plant manager Nelson Hemona said.
Roads connecting the southern cities of Cotabato and General Santos on Mindanao island were flooded, while a concrete bridge also collapsed, isolating some villages and towns, Catholic-run radio station DXMS reported. The storm forced more than 200,000 people to seek temporary shelter in the eastern Bicol region, the civil defence office said.
Heavy rains battered the Bicol region overnight, and more than 600 people were stranded in various seaports there. Fengshen also uprooted small trees, blew away tin roofs and caused power outages in the central Visayas provinces.
At 5:00 pm (0900 GMT) on Saturday, Fengshen was tracking north-west, packing winds of 195 kilometres an hour as it headed towards Mindoro province. Officials said domestic flights to the central Philippines have been suspended, while inter-island ferry services were also halted.
Government agencies were instructed to stockpile relief goods and state-run hospitals were put on alert. President Gloria Arroyo ordered a crackdown on profiteers and hoarders of basic commodities, especially rice, in areas hit hard by the typhoon.