In the storm-ravaged northern Philippines, rivers overflowed Tuesday after heavy rain and a dam breach, swamping thousands of homes with floodwaters up to four meters high.
Over the weekend, Typhoon Man-yi flooded large areas of the Philippines, causing the Cagayan River and its tributaries to swell and Magat Dam to have to release water.
Tens of thousands of people were impacted when the Cagayan breached its banks and poured water on already-sodden communities and agriculture.
In Tuguegarao city, Cagayan province, buildings, lampposts, and trees protruded through a lake of brown water. According to provincial disaster official Ian Valdepenas, floodwaters in certain areas rose to a height of almost four meters (14 feet).
“We experienced very heavy rains two days ago, but the flood just started to rise when Magat Dam started releasing huge volumes of water,” Valdepenas told AFP.
“Plus, our land is already saturated because of the consecutive typhoons hitting the area.”
Man-yi was the sixth severe typhoon to hit the Philippines in a month, destroying crops and cattle and leaving thousands homeless and at least 171 dead.
Numerous people are killed by the roughly 20 powerful storms and typhoons that strike the Southeast Asian country or its neighbouring oceans each year, but it is uncommon for several of these weather phenomena to occur within a brief timeframe.
