Manila floods

Thousands of residents fled flooded communities and swollen rivers in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces on Saturday after days of torrential monsoon rains, which left at least one villager dead. Officials said they struggled to open more emergency shelters to allow social distancing among the displaced residents and prevent evacuation camps from turning into epicentres of Covid-19 infections. In the hard-hit city of Marikina in the capital region, nearly 15,000 residents were evacuated to safety overnight as waters rose alarmingly in a major river.