Floods caused by Typhoon Koppu leave residents trapped on rooftops and keep over 19,000 at evacuation centres

Residents trapped on rooftops by rising flood waters waited for rescue on Monday as Typhoon Koppu flogged the Philippines for a second day, after killing two people and leaving thousands temporarily homeless.

The slow-moving typhoon unleashed torrential rain over three major mountain ranges on Sunday and the runoff has since swamped the vast rice-farming plains north of Manila, rescue officials said.

About 70 villages are under water in the spreading floods, with many resident calling for rescue from small numbers of military, local government and volunteer rescue units, said Nigel Lontoc, a regional rescue official.

“The floods are fast rising and some people are now on their rooftops,” Lontoc said.

“The water is now too deep even for big military trucks, so our people are trying to reach them using rubber boats,” he said, adding there were only 10 teams at their disposal at the moment.

Lontoc said many thousands of people may be stranded in those villages, although it was too early to determine an exact number.