Floods inundated the Philippine capital, and an oil tanker sank as Typhoon Gaemi prompted urgent climate action calls.
The capital remained underwater on Thursday after the typhoon exacerbated monsoon rains, trapping thousands and causing widespread damage.
Continuous heavy rains, massive flooding, and landslides killed 13 people and displaced over 600,000. An oil tanker capsized off the coast during strong winds and high waves, authorities said Thursday.
Although the typhoon, known locally as Carina, did not make landfall in the Philippines, it did impact Taiwan.
Nevertheless, its outer bands brought over 300 mm (12 inches) of rain to Manila and parts of Luzon. Consequently, officials declared a “state of calamity” and evacuated tens of thousands on Wednesday.
Video footage showed people wading through chest-deep water and clinging to overhead power lines. Families, wrapped in towels or plastic ponchos, huddled on dinghies as disaster teams rescued them.
In Metro Manila, home to 13 million, some areas reported floods as high as one-story buildings. Residents waited on roofs for rescue, according to the Philippine News Agency. In Cainta, east of the capital, floodwaters remained waist-high on Thursday, local councilor Ben Ramirez Narag reported.
“No one is prepared for this,” Narag said. “We anticipated the typhoon but not the rainfall scale.” His team delivered supplies to evacuation centers and assessed infrastructure damage.
The southwest monsoon, supercharged by the typhoon, continued causing misery even after Gaemi moved north and made landfall in Taiwan.
In Taiwan’s northeast, heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and a dangerous storm surge killed two and injured nearly 300. Taiwan remained largely shut down with canceled flights and closed markets, schools, and offices. Some mountainous regions reported up to 1,219 mm (48 inches) of rain.
A cargo ship with nine crew sank off Taiwan’s coast in rough seas on Thursday. The Tanzanian vessel sank 20 miles off Kaohsiung without a lifeboat. All crew members wore life jackets and floated in the sea, said Hsiao Huan-chang, head of the fire agency.
The island expected more torrential rain even as the typhoon’s center moved into the Taiwan Strait and headed toward China. The storm made landfall in Fujian province Thursday evening, bringing more winds and downpours to a region already hit by extreme rain and deadly flooding.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) responded to an oil tanker capsizing off Bataan’s coast, west of Manila, on Thursday.
The tanker carried over one million liters of industrial fuel oil. Sixteen crew members were rescued, and the search for one missing sailor continued. Images showed the coast guard launching a rescue operation as the ship nearly submerged in rough seas. Coast Guard aerial assets monitored an oil spill with an estimated coverage of 2.3 miles carried by a strong current.
Flooding caused widespread disruption, forcing authorities to close schools and businesses and cancel over 150 flights on Thursday.
Carlito Pagaduan, a resident of northern Ilocos Sur province, told CNN that heavy rains descended early Thursday. Although floodwaters had not entered his home, he feared losing power in the hard-to-reach area. “We’re trying to save battery,” he said. “We don’t know when we’ll lose electricity due to strong winds.” His family prepared for evacuation but stayed in their home for now.
Rescue services continued pulling trapped residents from flooded buildings on Thursday. Quezon City, north of Manila, was hit hard by floods. The city government said over 55,000 people, including nearly 16,000 families, were evacuated and sheltered in evacuation centers. The Philippine Red Cross launched an emergency appeal for donations to help affected Filipinos.
Dramatic footage showed barges colliding with a bridge in Pasig City as the Marikina River overflowed. Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto said a man was rescued from one barge and taken to a nearby hospital.
During a briefing on the typhoon response, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the need to assess the flooding situation urgently and requested local governments deploy medical staff to evacuation centers.
The flooding highlighted the Philippines’ disaster response challenges.
The archipelago experiences several typhoons yearly, but climate change has made storms more unpredictable and extreme. Super Typhoon Rai killed over 200 people in 2021, and Typhoon Haiyan killed over 6,000 in 2013. Experts say countries in the Global South struggle to handle climate disasters. Rising sea levels threaten low-lying coastal areas.
A study found that parts of Asia’s largest cities could be underwater by 2100, with coastal flooding events in Manila occurring 18 times more often. President Marcos included flood prevention in his recent state of the nation address, stating that over 5,500 flood control projects were completed, with more underway.
Campaigners urged Marcos to build resilience to extreme weather. Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Khevin Yu called for policies to help communities access justice. “This will not be the last or worst storm we face this year,” Yu said. “The Marcos administration must prioritize climate action.”