Worst floods in yrs kill seven in Manila

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday 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.   

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.

Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated before Vamco arrived late on Wednesday packing winds of 155 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph. It has since weakened and exited the mainland.

Nearly three million households in and around Manila were without power as people waded through waist-high floods, carrying valuables and pets.

Coastguard swam through brown floodwater as high as electricity poles in some areas, while rescue workers used rubber boats and makeshift floats to move children and the elderly to safety.