MANILA - Forty-nine people have died and more than 2 million people in Metro Manila and several Luzon provinces have been affected by heavy rains caused by a storm-enhanced "habagat" or the southwest monsoon.
Drowning caused most of the deaths, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said in its latest report on the disaster Thursday night.
Twenty-six died in Metro Manila, including 11 who were buried alive in a landslide in Quezon City.
Nineteen were killed in the provinces of Pampanga, Zambales, Bulacan, and Bataan in Central Luzon. Four died in Batangas, Rizal, and Romblon, the NDRRMC said.
Six others remain missing, and 4 are recovering from their injuries.
The heavy rains have affected a total of 2,110,871 people in 16 provinces in the country, according to the NDRRMC.
Eighty cities and towns are severely flooded.
Central Luzon is the hardest-hit, with 1,318,083 people affected, and more than 45,000 of them are in temporary evacuation centers.
In Metro Manila, floods spawned by heavy rains affected 265,715 people and forced more than 200,00 to flee their homes, the NDRRMC said.
A total of 422,911 people were also affected in Calabarzon region south of Metro Manila. The Visayas was not spared, with 10,689 people affected by torrential rains.
A state of calamity has been declared in the following cities and towns:
- Metro Manila: Marikina, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, San Juan, Pasig, Pasay, Caloocan and Pateros
- Region III: Bataan, Pampanga, Zambales and Bulacan, Olongapo City
- Region IV-A: Laguna
- Region IV-B: Palawan (Culion, El Nido and Linacapan)
The national government has yet to release estimates on the damage caused by the massive floods.
Source : by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNnews.com
