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14 dead in Philippine flash flood

DAVAO : At least 14 people were killed as a flash flood triggered by heavy rains devastated a riverside community in the

Published June 29, 2011 Updated June 29, 2011 06:27am

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By Shoaib Ur Rehman

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The downpour drenched large parts of Davao city on Mindanao island on Tuesday night, causing the Matina river to rise and inundate communities along its banks, according to local civil defence official Fidel Quintana.

"Fourteen were confirmed to have been killed, while 10 others are missing," Quintana told reporters.

Lieutenant Marianette Vinluan, spokeswoman of the army in the area, said up to 15,000 families had to be evacuated from their homes in the mostly poor community along the river as floodwaters totally submerged their homes.

She said troops had been sent to the area to help in the rescue and relief efforts, with the waters still partly submerging some homes on Wednesday morning.

Last week, Tropical Storm Maeri also caused flooding and forced the evacuation of some 90,000 people in the capital Manila and in nearby provinces.

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