Typhoon Vamco wreaks havoc on Philippine capital

Residents are rescued from their flooded homes in the Philippines

Credit: Lisa Marie David/Reuters

At least seven people have been killed by a powerful typhoon that struck the Philippines, unleashing some of the worst flooding in years in the capital Manila. 

Typhoon Vamco, also known as Ulysses, is the eighth to hit the Philippines in the past two months, compounding the devastation inflicted on the Southeast Asian nation by the pandemic and the resulting blow to the economy.

Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, cut short his attendance at a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders where he had been warning of the dangers of climate change.

Inspecting the damage, he promised in a national address that the public should "rest assured, the government will not leave anybody behind.” The president pledged shelter, relief goods, financial aid and counselling.

Dramatic images emerged from Manila and its surrounding areas, where people were trapped on the roofs of their low-lying homes, and coastguards swam through muddy floodwater as high as electricity poles to rescue children and the elderly. Nearly 3 million homes have been left without power. 

Much of Manila has been left underwater

Credit: Ace Morandante/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

"A lot of places are submerged. Many people are crying for help," Rouel Santos, 53, a retired disaster officer in Rizal province told Reuters. 

Roughly 40,000 homes had either been fully or partially submerged in the Marikina area, a situation its mayor, Marcelino Teodoro, said was "overwhelming" and the worst since a typhoon flooded large swathes of the capital in 2009.

The typhoon struck areas which were still recovering from Goni, the most powerful typhoon in the world this year, which killed 25 and left thousands in temporary shelters. 

Almost 200,000 people were evacuated before Vamco struck with gusts of up to 158mph. 

The sweep of storms caps a torrid year for the Philippines and its 108-million population, which was already reeling from more than 400,000 Covid-19 cases. 

Mr Duterte said that the devastating storms were "a stark reminder of the urgency of collective action to combat the effects of climate change.”