02/09/2024
02/09/2024
![XAF107](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/uploads/images/2024/09/02/25435.jpeg&w=750&q=90&f=webp&t=0.0.1)
MANILA, Philippines, Sept 2, (AP): A storm set off landslides and unleashed pounding rains that flooded many northern Philippine areas overnight into Monday, leaving at least 9 people dead and prompting authorities to suspend classes and government work in the densely populated capital region. Tropical Storm Yagi was blowing 115 kilometers (71 miles) northeast of Infanta town in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, by midday on Monday with sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers (47 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 90 kph (56 mph), according to the weather bureau.
The storm, locally called Enteng, was moving northwestward at 15 kph (9 mph) near the eastern coast of the main northern region of Luzon, where the weather bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides in mountainous provinces. A landslide hit two small shanties on a hillside in Antipolo city on Monday in Rizal province just to the west of the capital, killing at least three people, including a pregnant woman, disaster-mitigation officer Enrilito Bernardo Jr.
Four other villagers drowned in swollen creeks, he said. National police spokesperson Col Jean Fajardo told reporters without elaborating that two other people died and 10 others were injured in landslides set off by the storm in the central Philippines. Two residents died in stormy weather in Naga city in eastern Camarines Sur province, where floodwaters swamped several communities, police said.
Authorities were verifying if the deaths, including one caused by electrocution, were weather-related. Storm warnings were raised in a large swath of Luzon, the country’s most populous region, including in metropolitan Manila, where schools at all levels and most government work were suspended due to the storm.