Half of Manila submerged by Torrential Rains

Relentless rains submerged half of the sprawling Philippine capital, triggered a landslide that killed nine people and sent emergency crews scrambling to rescue tens of thousands of residents, some of whom called media outlets pleading for help.

The deluge, the worst to hit Manila since 2009 when hundreds died in rampaging flash floods, was set off by the seasonal monsoon that overflowed major dams and rivers in the city and surrounding provinces.

Manila and other parts of the country already were saturated from last week's Typhoon Saola, which battered the capital and the north for several days before blowing away Friday. That storm was responsible for at least 53 deaths.

"It's like a water world," Benito Ramos, head of the government's disaster response agency, said Tuesday.

Read more: C TV News

Posted in: Calamities, Manila, Philippines, Rains