Update | Five dead and 83,000 evacuated as Storm Fung-Wong hits Philippines
Massive flooding as latest storm to hit the Philippines causes river in Manila to burst its banks, swamping heavily populated districts
Tens of thousands of people fled roof-high floods and at least five people died in the Philippine capital and nearby provinces yesterday as another vicious storm swept across the disaster-prone country.
Rescue workers in trucks and rubber dinghies plucked residents from the tops of flooded homes, after one of Manila's major rivers burst its banks, swamping heavily populated eastern districts. It was one of the worst floods to hit the sprawling metropolis of 12 million in recent years.
"We're dealing with floods over a large area," Mina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said.
She said the first known fatality was a two-year-old girl who drowned at a flooded slum in northern Manila. The Philippine Red Cross said a man drowned in the Caloocan City district, while officials in Rizal province said the body of a 68-year-old woman was recovered after she was swept away by floodwaters.
The winds from Storm Fung-Wong, known locally as Mario, were relatively weak, with recorded maximum speeds of 85km/h and gusts of up to 100km/h as it brushed past the northeastern tip of the main island of Luzon around noon local time.