Heavy rain pummels flooded Philippines, 7 dead

Flood-battered residents of The Philippine capital fled their homes or sat on rooftops today as relentless monsoon rains, which have killed seven people, submerged more than half of Manila.

Streets turned into rivers with water above two-metres (seven feet) in some parts of the megacity of 12 million people, displacing more than 130,000 people and forcing countless others to wait out the storm in or on their flooded homes.

"We have had nothing to eat, nothing to wear. A few people went to houses on higher ground, but most of us had nowhere to go," Dinah Claire Velasco, 44, a resident of a blue-collar coastal district on the outskirts of Manila told AFP.

"My children and other people were able to seek refuge on the second floor of my house but a lot of others had to just sit on their roofs... We're waiting for rescue, for help, even just food."

Philippine airforce aerial view of houses and factories submerged in floodwaters in Laguna province, south of Manila yesterday. Heavy rain in the Philippine capital brought by monsoon rain, intensified by Tropical storm Trami, forced the closure of government offices, schools, banks and most private companies yesterday, and residents in parts of the city and nearby provinces had to flee from their homes because of floods. At least three people were killed and two were missing in accidents caused by the rain and flooding, disaster and government officials said.

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India monsoon floods leave 138 dead

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Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies Wednesday to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India, killing at least 138 people, officials said. Thousands of people have already been evacuated after floods and landslides caused by early monsoon rains wrought devastation through the region in the Himalayan foothills, they said. "As of now we know that over 65,000 people are stranded," Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi. "We are committed to rescuing everyone now that the rains have stopped," the minister said, adding that the army has evacuated 5,000 people cut off by the downpour. Torrential rains at least three times as heavy as usual have hit the state of Uttarakhand, often called the "Land of the Gods," where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims. 

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