Widespread floods, people trapped on roofs as tropical storm nears Philippines

Torrential rain set off by an approaching Tropical Storm Trami has swamped cities in the eastern Philippines, causing widespread flooding that has killed at least seven people and trapped others in their homes and on roofs.

As a result, the Filipino government has shut down public schools and government offices on the entire main island of Luzon, except those urgently needed for disaster response to protect millions in the path of the storm and floodwaters.

At least seven people died before the storm’s expected landfall on the north-eastern Philippine coast, including drownings, officials said, adding that about 11 others were reported missing.

The storm is forecast to hit Aurora’s coast on Wednesday night.

Thousands of villagers have already evacuated to emergency shelters in north-eastern provinces, and storm warnings were raised in more than two dozen northern and central provinces, including in the densely populated capital of Manila.

The storm was last tracked about 109 miles east of Echague town in the province of Isabela. It had strengthened with sustained winds of 59mph and gusts of up to 71mph.

The storm was forecast to hit Isabela’s coast on Wednesday night to early Thursday, before barrelling across northern Luzon before exiting to the South China Sea late on Thursday.

Floodwaters have since sparked frantic appeals for rescue boats and trucks, officials said on Wednesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr cancelled all his appointments on Wednesday and convened an emergency meeting to discuss disaster mitigation efforts, Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said.

“The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid, so let’s all prepare,” Mr Marcos said.

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the military’s aircraft and ships would be used for evacuations and disaster response. He said additional airlift power could be provided by friendly countries, including Singapore, if needed.

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

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 also 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,” Filipino politician Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur province told DZRH radio network.

He told radio hosts that 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 are still asking for help.

“Last night, my phone was filled with nonstop calls and text messages from people pleading ‘Help us, rescue us,’” Mr Villafuerte said.

“It’s sad when you feel helpless because of this deluge of problems.”

In nearby Quezon province, governor Angelina Tan said floodwaters in some areas have already reached up to three metres in depth, with at least 8,000 villagers 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.