Torrential rains shut down Philippine capital

Torrential rains brought the Philippine capital to a standstill Monday, submerging some areas in waist-deep floodwaters and making streets impassable to vehicles while thousands of people across coastal and mountainous northern regions fled to emergency shelters, according to AP. The national disaster agency and local officials reported at least two dead and several missing. Schools, offices, the stock exchange, courts and embassies were closed as the weather bureau placed metropolitan Manila - a sprawling area of 12 million people - under red alert. The flooding following a night of heavy rains brought by the monsoon, which was enhanced by Tropical Storm Trami. It hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with up to 30 millimeters (just over an inch) of rain per hour. In the chilly northern mountain town of Sagada, army troops and police rescued 29 tourists, including 13 Japanese, who were stranded for several hours inside a cave after two days of heavy rains caused a stream at the entrance to swell, Office of Civil Defense official Andrew Alex Uy said. One Filipino tourist remained missing. Several dams in Luzon were forced to open flood gates because of rising waters and thousands of residents downstream were told to move.