Flooding kills at least 246 people in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Flood victims trudged through ankle-deep sludge to crowded relief centers in the Philippines on Tuesday as the death toll rose to 246 from water that inundated the homes of nearly 2 million people.

Tropical Storm Ketsana brought the worst flooding to the Southeast Asian country in four decades, chasing some victims to their rooftops to escape the rising water and sweeping others down raging rivers.

The storm struck Saturday in Manila, one of the world’s largest cities with about 12 million people, and dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in just 12 hours. Flooding was worst around the Pasig River, which cuts through the capital, including wealthy suburbs and shanty towns.

The presidential palace was opened as a relief center, and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s executive chef cooked gourmet food for victims at another shelter.

Ketsana strengthened and crashed into central Vietnam on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people who drowned, were caught in mudslides or hit by falling trees, officials said. Some 170,000 people were evacuated.

The storm weakened as it moved inland and approached Laos, but rivers were still rising and more rain was forecast for the region today.

In the Philippines, where at least 38 people remained missing and more rain was forecast, some of the displaced families recalled their ordeal from a covered court in the town center where they sought shelter.

Thick, gooey mud lay in the streets in some places, while others were still under a foot or two of water. But the main downtown business and tourist district was largely unscathed.

In Marikina, a suburban district of the capital, police used forklifts to remove mud-caked cars stalled along the road. Elsewhere, people used shovels and brooms to muck brown mud from their homes and businesses, some of which were inundated up to the second floor.

Victims clutching bags of belongings lined up for hours at relief centers for bottled water, boiled eggs and packets of instant noodles.

Another storm, meanwhile, was headed toward the Philippines. Tropical Storm Parma was about 800 miles southeast of the Philippines late Tuesday, bringing the threat of more heavy rain, Nilo Frisco of the government weather agency said.

Washington had pledged $100,000 for the relief efforts and U.S. Navy personnel were helping with search and rescue, the Foreign Affairs Department said Tuesday.