Tropical Storm Ketsana, which roared across northern Philippines yesterday, September 26, has left the country, but many roads in Metro Manila remained impassable due to flood waters.
At press time, rescue and relief efforts were being stepped up in several areas of the Philippine capital and nearby provinces.
Typhoon Ketsana dumped nearly a month's worth of rain (about 42.3cm) in just nine hours from early Saturday, triggering the worst flood in the country in nearly 40 years.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) continued to operate open throughout the calamity, although some of Phiippine Airlines' (PAL) and Cebu Pacific's Manila-Hongkong flights were cancelled yesterday, as were two of Cathay Pacific's Hongkong-Manila services. This morning, flight schedules were reinstated, with PAL sending larger aircraft to accommodate passengers stranded from the day before.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council at 6pm today put the dead at 73, with 70,000 families displaced.
Gigi Onag and Margie T Logarta
