Storm brings 60mph winds and extensive flooding to Manila and the northern and central provinces of Luzon island

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

More than 205,000 people have been evacuated in the Philippines as a tropical storm brought flooding to Manila and nearby provinces.

The storm, which battered the country's northernmost provinces on Friday, has claimed at least five lives so far and gained strength on Saturday with torrential monsoon rains and strong winds.

The national disaster risk reduction and management council reported that tropical storm Fung-Wong had affected more than 700,000 people in metropolitan Manila and northern and central provinces, forcing more than 205,000 to evacuate.

Imee Marcos, the governor of Ilocos Norte province in the north-west of the main island of Luzon, said 12 hours of fierce winds and heavy rains had blown off roofs, toppled trees and flooded highways.

"I am basically holed up in my bedroom with a generator and several computers and telephones because I can't even cross the street," she told the Associated Press on Saturday.

"I told everyone to hunker down. There is very little we can do," she said.

Marcos said there were no immediate reports of casualties, that rescue workers were en route to those trapped by the flooding, and relief supplies were being distributed.

"Every time there is a little rain we have trouble, and now this is more than a little rain so it's really been difficult," Marcos said, adding that the last time the province had experienced something similar was 10 years ago.

At least 86,000 people were displaced in Manila on Friday, as Fung-Wong flooded the ground floors of many homes, forcing residents to seek refuge on upper floors and rooftops.

The rain and an unrelated radar malfunction combined to divert, delay or cancel dozens of domestic and international flights at the capital's airport.

Government offices in the capital and 15 provinces were closed on Friday and the Philippine stock exchange suspended trading.

Government forecasters said nearly a month's worth of rain fell overnight.

Aldczar Aurelio, a meteorologist, said the storm, which made landfall in northern Cagayan province with winds of more than 60 miles (100km) an hour, strengthened the seasonal south-west monsoon winds and cloud formation from the Indian Ocean and Australia.

He said 26.8cm (10.5 inches) of rain fell on the capital in a 24-hour period ending early on Friday, more than half the amount that caused the worst flooding in metropolitan Manila for 40 years in 2009.

Fung-Wong is expected to leave Philippine territory by Sunday and track toward Taiwan and southern Japan.

Typhoon Kalmaegi hit the same northern Philippine region last week, leaving eight people dead and displacing more than 366,000.