Three days of monsoon rains have submerged much of the Filipino capital, leaving eight people dead and half a million displaced. Schools and government buildings are closed. The Church is helping flood victims.

Manila (AsiaNews) - Today, for the third consecutive day, monsoon rains have battered the Filipino capital and surrounding areas, further exacerbating an already precarious situation.

Eight people are confirmed dead and more than 500,000 have been displaced by bad weather, but the toll, experts warn, will likely get worse in coming hours for the passage of tropical storm Trami, which has hit most of the northern part of the country.

Whilst the Filipino Catholic Church has launched a campaign to raise funds and collected basic necessities for the victims, Card Luis Antonio Tagle appealed to the faithful to show unity and solidarity in this moment of crisis.

Today, at least a third of Metro Manila, a metropolis of 12 million inhabitants, is flooded. This is a slight improvement compared to yesterday when almost half of the city was under water.

Hundreds of thousands of people are housed in shelters or staying with relatives and friends because their homes are uninhabitable. Schools and government buildings are still closed.

In a clearly difficult situation, the archbishop of Manila appealed to his fellow citizens in a predominantly Catholic country to show cooperation, solidarity and unity.

Card Tagle praised the value of 'bayanihan', or co-operation, to bring aid to the thousands of people in Manila, and other areas on the island of Luzon, victims of the typhoon.

"Let us console and help one another in little or big ways in order to lessen the pain of many amid this bad weather," Card Tagle said over Manila archdiocese-run Radio Veritas, hoping that the natural disaster may lead "to a deep cooperation among our people" and "ease the pain of loss of lives, properties, homes [. . .] replaced with an overflow of love, help and fellowship to our brothers and sisters".

Meanwhile, the Filipino Catholic Church is promoting a series of practical initiatives to bring aid to the population.

With some dioceses on Luzon Island affected by floods, people are running out of medical supplies and basic necessities. Many church buildings and facilities are also flooded and therefore unusable. However, diocesan social centres have opened their doors and given hospitality to hundreds of families, handing out food and drinking water.

The Diocese of Imus, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila, has allocated at least 200,000 pesos to flood victims, waiting for more funds to come from Caritas headquarters in the capital.

Other local dioceses, including Parañaque and Balanga, have appealed to the faithful, inviting them to "bring donations and goods to churches," which will later distribute them to the needy.

• philippines
• manila
• luzon
• monsoon
• rains
• floods
• catholic
• church