Tropical storm triggers heavy floods in Philippines, residents get trapped

Torrential rain set off by an approaching tropical storm swamped eastern Philippine cities and towns overnight in widespread flooding that trapped people, some on their roofs, and sparked frantic appeals for rescue boats and trucks, officials said Wednesday.

The government shut down public schools and government offices, except those urgently needed for disaster response, on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people as Tropical Storm Trami blew closer from the Pacific.

The storm was about 310 kilometers east of Baler in the northeastern province of Aurora with sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour and gusts to 105 kmph. It was forecast to hit Aurora's coast Wednesday night.

Thousands of villagers have evacuated to emergency shelters in northeastern provinces, and storm warnings were raised in more than two dozen northern and central provinces, including in the densely populated capital of Manila. No fatalities or major injuries have been reported.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cancelled all his appointments Wednesday to focus on coordinating the government's comprehensive search and rescue and relief efforts and would convene an emergency meeting at military headquarters to discuss disaster-mitigation efforts, Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said.

People have been stuck on roofs of their houses for several hours now, former Vice President Leni Robredo, who lives in the northeastern city of Naga, said in a post on Facebook early Wednesday. Many of our rescue trucks have stalled due to the floods."

Robredo expressed hopes the flooding would ease at low tide Wednesday morning.

Coast guard personnel have been rescuing residents in flooded villages in the eastern provinces of Sorsogon, Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and outlying regions since Tuesday, but provincial authorities said the number of rescue boats and personnel was not enough.

Thousands of passengers and cargo workers were stranded in several seaports after the coast guard said it suspended inter-island ferry services and barred fishing boats from venturing into the increasingly rough seas.

"We need national intervention, Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur province told DZRH radio network, saying his flood-prone province has about 50 rescue boats but needs about 200 due to the widespread appeals from villagers to be rescued.

Thousands of villagers were evacuated from low-lying communities and landslide-prone areas starting two days ago in Camarines Sur but many more were asking for help.

Last night, my phone was filled with nonstop calls and text messages from people pleading 'Help us, rescue us,' Villafuerte said. It's sad when you feel helpless because of this deluge of problems.

In nearby Quezon province, Governor Angelina Tan said floods in some areas reach up to 3 meters and at least 8,000 villagers have evacuated from low-lying communities.

About 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago also lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the world's most disaster-prone.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines.