An estimated 600,000 people in the Philippines remained at temporary shelters or with relatives on Friday after days of heavy rain that killed 20, officials said.
A day after floods ebbed in the capital Manila, stagnant pools of water and high tides in coastal areas prolonged the misery in the central Luzon plains to the north, civil defence official Josefina Timoteo said.
“These are mainly farmers and fisher folk who still cannot return to their homes or resume work. We are still supplying their needs,” said Timoteo, the civil defence chief for the region.
“These are low-lying regions and this happens every year. It is a way of life for many of them and the local governments are well-organised to provide relief.”
Seasonal monsoons dumped more than a month’s rain in Manila and surrounding provinces between Sunday and Wednesday, the state weather service said, submerging about half the capital in floodwaters.
The government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 200,000 people were still in government-run shelters Friday, with 400,000 others staying with friends or relatives and likewise receiving food rations and other emergency aid.
