Floods kill 11, quakes jar nerves in RP

Floods kill 11, quakes jar nerves in RP

MANILA (Agencies): At least 11 people were killed and more
than 80,000 fled their homes when a tropical storm pounded the
Philippines' most populous island of Luzon for the second day on
Wednesday, officials said.

Relief agencies said seven people drowned in various parts of
Luzon, including Manila, two died after being crushed by falling
objects near the capital and a man and his wife were killed
inside their house when it was hit by a landslide in northern
Baguio city.

Parts of Manila and 47 towns north of the capital were
submerged, forcing about 82,000 to flee to evacuation centers,
officials said.

While the storm raged, three earthquakes with magnitudes
ranging from four to 5.2 on the Richter Scale shook the Batanes
island group off Luzon, rattling nerves but causing no casualty
or damage.

A more powerful typhoon, named Kirogi, also approached the
country with winds gusting up to 200 kph but the weather bureau
said it was veering north and would likely hit the southern
islands of Japan.

Floods of up to three meters deep submerged houses in low-
lying towns around the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, a former U.S.
naval base, and rescue teams used rubber boats to rescue marooned
residents, port officials said.

The floods were caused by a tropical storm, locally named
Edeng, which slammed across the mainly rice- and corn-growing
areas in the northern area of Luzon.

There were no immediate estimates of damage to crops.
The slow-moving storm packed maximum center winds of 55 kph, the
weather bureau said.

The Philippines is hit by 20 to 22 typhoons a year and an
average of five quakes daily, most of them only felt by measuring
instruments.

Executive Secretary Rolando Zamora suspended work in all
government offices as of midday on Wednesday. "In view of the
continuous heavy rains and the flooding of the streets in Metro
Manila today ... work in all government offices including
government-owned and controlled corporations is hereby suspended
at 12:01 today," a memorandum circular from the office of Zamora
said.

Zamora said government offices with vital functions will have
to retain only a minimal workforce.

The education department canceled classes at elementary and
high schools because of flash floods in metropolitan Manila. Some
colleges followed suit as a number of roads were submerged under
flood waters.

Trading of the Philippine peso in the afternoon was suspended
due to deteriorating weather conditions in Manila, the Bankers
Association of the Philippines said.

At the end of morning trade, the peso stood at a weighted
average of 43.646 to the dollar against Tuesday's close of
43.535.

But commercial airline flights were not disrupted, airport
officials said.

The heavy rains also briefly knocked out power supplies in the
north of the country. Power authority officials opened the gates
of four hydro-electric dams north of Manila to prevent water from
overflowing and worsening the floods.