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December 21, 2015

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Toll from Philippines storms rises to 45

The death toll from two storms which battered the Philippines rose to 45 yesterday as several towns remained under water and rain kept falling in northern regions, disaster monitoring officials said.

The rain was caused by a cold front, dragged into the country by Typhoon Melor and Tropical Depression Onyok, which hit the Philippines in succession last week.

Floods almost 3 meters deep covered some riverside areas north of the capital Manila as heavy rain kept falling, civil defence offices said.

鈥淥ur home has been flooded up to the waist. It has been flooded for over two days,鈥 said Mary Jane Bautista, 35, in the industrial town of Calumpit 50 kilometers north of the capital.

Her family and several others were forced to take refuge on nearby high ground 鈥 in front of a church where their only shelter is the awning over the entrance.

鈥淢y husband has to wade through the waters to go home to get supplies. If we need water, he has to go to the faucet in our kitchen,鈥 she said, expressing fears the current could wash him away. 鈥淲e had some food but it just ran out,鈥 she said, complaining that government relief goods had not yet reached her.

Around her the streets had turned into fast-moving rivers, passable only by rowboats and tubes. Many low-lying areas north of Manila act as a catchment area for rain in other parts of the main island of Luzon.

鈥淚t (the flood) really takes a long time to recede because this is the lowest area,鈥 said Glenn Diwa, an officer with the regional disaster council.

Over 54,000 people in the region were huddling in government evacuation centers.


 

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