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Residents affected by floods from Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco) are rescued on a boat in Marikina, Metro Manila, Philippines, on November 12, 2020. REUTERS / Eloisa Lopez
MANILA – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered government agencies to rush aid to those affected by Typhoon Ulysses after the storm killed at least two people and caused the worst flooding in the capital Manila in years.
Tens of thousands of houses in lower suburbs were submerged by the flooding, prompting residents to climb onto rooftops waiting to be rescued.
Ulysses (international name: Vamco), the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, struck a nation still reeling from Rolly (international name: Goni), the world’s most powerful typhoon this year that killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes in early November.
“Rest assured that the government will leave no one behind,” Duterte said in a national address, promising shelter, relief items, financial aid and post-disaster counseling.
The latest typhoon, which has also left four missing, comes as the Philippines is still grappling with a wave of COVID-19 infections and a battered economy.
In some eastern suburbs of Manila, residents took refuge in their flooded houses.
“There are only a few steps left on our third floor and we have not seen any rescuers yet,” Pasig City resident Carla Mhaye Suico told DZBB radio as she took refuge with 15 family members and neighbors.
About 40,000 homes had been totally or partially submerged in the city of Marikina, its mayor, Marcelino Teodoro, told DZMM radio station, calling the situation “overwhelming” and the worst since a typhoon flooded large areas of Manila in 2009. .
“The local government cannot handle this,” Teodoro said, requesting motorized boats and airlifts.
Nearly three million homes in and around Manila were left without power as people went through waist-deep floods with valuables and pets.
A man carries a dog while evacuating from a flooded community after Typhoon Vamco, in Marikina, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on Nov. 12, 2020. REUTERS / Eloisa opez
Coastguards had to swim in floodwaters as high as utility poles, while rescuers used rubber boats and makeshift floats to get children and the elderly to safety.
Large waves and strong winds in Manila Bay moved a tanker truck, damaging a bridge.
Flights and public transportation in Manila were suspended while the coast guard halted port operations. Government work was suspended and financial markets closed.
Ulysses has now weakened, with sustained winds of 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph), after leaving the island of Luzon, home to half of the Philippines’ 108 million people. .
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, experiences around 20 tropical storms a year that often continue their way to hit Vietnam, China and Taiwan.
Ulysses is expected to head to Vietnam. Floods and landslides over the past month have killed at least 160 people in central Vietnam, left dozens missing and damaged 390,000 homes.
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