MANILA (Reuters) – Floods and a landslide killed seven people in the Philippines on Monday as tropical storm Yagi, locally known as Enteng, dumped heavy rain on the capital Manila and nearby provinces, a disaster agency official said on Monday.
In a hilly community in Antipolo east of Manila, three people were killed, including two schoolboys and a 27-year-old pregnant woman, when a landslide hit two houses, according to Relly Bernardo, the city’s disaster management chief.
“This is a landslide-prone area and we have been encouraging them to leave for the longest time with offers of housing in other locations,” he told DWPM radio station.
Bernardo said four other people died in separate incidents of drowning in the same province, Rizal, adding some homes in were submerged by floods.
The Philippines typically records an average of 20 tropical storms annually, many of those typhoons, with landslides among the biggest causes of casualties.
Heavy rains flooded streets and homes in parts of the country on Monday, prompting the suspension of government work and classes.
Yagi brought winds of up to 85 kph (53 mph), with gusts reaching 105 kph (65 mph), as it continued to move northwest on Luzon, the Philippines’ biggest and most populous island.
“The water was gushing here and on the other side of our street, the water was rising close to the rooftop of houses,” said Gloria Nicolas, a resident in Rizal province.
“Some residents got trapped and had to escape by passing through the roofs of houses.”
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Adrian Portugal; Editing by Martin Petty)
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