Typhoon Vamco lashes the Philippines, paralyses parts of Manila

Torrential rains from Typhoon Vamco lashed provinces in the Philippines' main Luzon island on Thursday (Nov 12), killing at least one person and paralysing parts of the capital Manila as some residents awaited rescue by boat due to rising floodwaters.

Vamco, the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, battered a nation still reeling from Goni, the world's most powerful typhoon this year that killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes early in November.

The latest typhoon, which has left three missing in a coastal province, comes as the Southeast Asian country is still grappling with a wave of COVID-19 infections and a battered economy.

In some suburbs east of Manila residents took refuge on top of their flooded homes.

"Just a few steps remaining on our third floor and we have yet to see any rescuer," Carla Mhaye Suico, a resident in Pasig City, told DZBB radio, while sheltering on her roof with 15 family members and neighbours.

Arlyn Rodriguez, a resident in Marikina City, told DZMM radio station she was awaiting rescue with 20 others, mostly children and elderly after the floods rose quickly.

In parts of Manila, people waded through waist-high floods, carrying valuables and pets, while rescue workers ferried residents around in boats.

Vamco has now weakened, with sustained winds of 130kmh and gusts of up to 215kmh as it moves across Luzon, home to half of the Philippines' 108 million people.

Vamco is forecast to head towards Vietnam. Floods and mudslides over the past month have killed at least 160 people in central Vietnam, left dozens missing and damaged 390,000 houses.