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Typhoon Vamco: dozens dead as extensive flooding hits the Philippines

Thousands rescued as Vamco hit on the heels of Typhoon Goni, one of the strongest storms in the world this year

© Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
Rescuers and residents ride in rubber boats amid rising floodwaters in a submerged village, as Typhoon Vamco hits the Philippines

Thick mud and debris have coated many villages around the Philippine capital after a typhoon caused extensive flooding that sent people fleeing to their roofs and killed at least 39 people.

Thousands of people have been rescued by Friday, though waters have mostly receded. The military was rescuing people in places where waters remained high.

Amphibious assault vehicles, usually used in counter-insurgency operations, were deployed for the rescue work, military chief of staff General Gilbert Gapay said in an emergency meeting with disaster-response officials.

"We'll continue to look for the missing, help in damage assessment," Gapay said. He reported 39 deaths and 32 other people missing.

Typhoon Vamco passed north of Manila between Bulacan and Pampanga provinces overnight Wednesday and early Thursday, toppling power poles and trees and damaging homes.

More than 350,000 people had been evacuated to safety, mainly residents fleeing vulnerable coastal and low-lying areas before the typhoon hit. Philippine National Police said more than 100,000 people had been rescued, including 41,000 in the capital region.

At least 3.8 million households lost power in metropolitan Manila and outlying provinces, but crews have restored electricity in many areas and power was expected to be fully restored in about three days. Government offices were closed and classes suspended for public schools on Friday.

Vamco hit the Philippines on the heels of Typhoon Goni, one of the strongest typhoons in the world this year, which left more than 30 people dead or missing and damaged or destroyed 270,000 houses. Tens of thousands of people remain displaced.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year and also had active seismic faults and volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

67 Dead, 12 Missing As Typhoon Vamco Rips Through Philippines

Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in southern Luzon provinces, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other regions.

Houses are submerged in flooded areas in Cagayan valley region, northern Philippines on November 14, 2020.

The number of deaths in the deadliest cyclone to hit the Philippines this year has climbed to 67, with 12 people still missing, the national disaster management agency said on Sunday.

President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to fly to the northern Tuguegarao province later in the day to assess the situation in Cagayan Valley region, which was heavily flooded after Typhoon Vamco dumped rain over swathes of the main Luzon island, including the capital, metropolitan Manila.

Twenty-two fatalities were recorded in Cagayan, 17 in southern Luzon provinces, eight in Metro Manila, and 20 in two other regions, said disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal.

Twenty-one people were injured, he said.

Many areas in Cagayan, a rice- and corn-producing region of 1.2 million people, remained submerged as of Sunday, according to media reports.

Heavy flooding, caused by the accumulated effects of previous weather disturbances, as well as water from a dam and higher plains affected thousands of families, some of whom had fled to rooftops to escape two-storey high floods.

The damage to agricultural commodities due to floods was initially pegged at 1.2 billion pesos ($25 million), while infrastructure damage was estimated at 470 million pesos, Timbal said.

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