Seven dead as Typhoon Vamco triggers Philippine capital's worst floods in years
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, Reuters reports.
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.
The typhoon, the eighth to hit the Philippines in the past two months and 21st of the year, forced residents to scramble onto rooftops to await rescue after tens of thousands of homes were submerged.
Those killed across the main island of Luzon, home to half of the country’s 108 million population, included people who drowned, an elderly man hit by a tree and three workers crushed when a warehouse collapsed.
It struck areas still reeling from Goni, the most powerful typhoon in the world this year, which killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this month.
“Rest assured, the government will not leave anybody behind,” Duterte said in a national address, pledging shelter, relief goods, financial aid and counselling.
Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated before Vamco arrived late on Wednesday packing winds of 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph (158 mph). It has since weakened and exited the mainland.
Duterte told Southeast Asian leaders the devastation of recent weeks was “a stark reminder of the urgency of collective action to combat the effects of climate change”.
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