RP floods leave 53 dead, 77,000 homeless

RP floods leave 53 dead, 77,000 homeless

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines was mopping up yesterday after
flash floods left 53 people dead and 77,000 displaced as parts of
the country were put on a disaster footing, officials said.

The death toll rose as rescue workers dug through collapsed
masonry and the debris of landslides, with several people still
reported missing.

Manila residents, who had to wade through waist-high water
Monday, were seen sweeping up debris from streets, although some
smaller side streets remained under several inches of murky flood
waters.

Businesses reopened and operations at Manila airport resumed
yesterday, after two days of heavy rains.

Tens of thousands of people whose homes were threatened by the
floodwaters have been evacuated to evacuation centers, the
national disaster coordinating council said.

Teams of health workers have been sent to the evacuation
centers to monitor the situation particularly in those areas
worst hit, Health Secretary Carmencita Reodica said.

The weather bureau said the tropical depression was moving
away from the northern Philippines, although southwest monsoon
rains were expected in the next few days.

"Metropolitan Manila is getting a break. We don't expect rains
as bad as yesterday," Nancy Alega, forecasting supervisor of the
Philippine weather bureau told AFP.

But parts of the country were already battening down for
typhoons and monsoon rains.

Defense Secretary Renato de Villa said he would ask President
Fidel Ramos to expand those places listed as disaster areas which
will give them top priority in government aid efforts.

"Some of these areas are already recovering as of this date.
We're hoping the recovery will continue so we can proceed to
normalize everything within the next 24 hours," de Villa said.

Manila international airport struggled to clear a backlog as
passengers who missed flights Monday were flown out on available
flights yesterday.

Chaos reigned at the airport Monday as floodwaters entered the
airport's electro-magnetic circuit room, causing damage and
tripping power.

The death toll mounted with eight more fatalities reported
from Subic, northwest of Manila, a local official said in an
interview over radio DZMM.

Four of the eight people were buried in a landslide at the
height of Monday's rains, two drowned, one man who was
electrocuted and another who suffered a heart attack at an
evacuation center. Three children were missing in the landslide.

Four teenagers also died Sunday, while 16 others were injured
in Lubao, north of here, after being hit by a drunk driver during
a religious procession amid heavy rains, provincial police
investigator Mario Dulin said.