* Vamco, 8th typhoon in Philippines in 2 months, exits land
* Financial markets shut, government work suspended
* Duterte urges action against climate change
* At least 40,000 homes flooded in one Manila suburb
(Adds comments from president, residents, updates death toll)
By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte on Thursday ordered government agencies to hasten relief
efforts after a powerful typhoon killed at least seven people
and unleashed some of the worst flooding in years in the capital
Manila.
Duterte cut short his attendance of a virtual meeting of
Southeast Asian leaders to inspect the damage from Typhoon
Vamco, moments after a speech during which he urged his
counterparts to urgently combat the effects of climate change.
The typhoon, the eighth to hit the Philippines in the past
two months and 21st of the year, forced residents to scramble
onto rooftops to await rescue after tens of thousands of homes
were submerged.
Those killed across the main island of Luzon, home to half
of the country's 108 million population, included people who
drowned, an elderly man hit by a tree and three workers crushed
when a warehouse collapsed.
It struck areas still reeling from Goni, the most powerful
typhoon in the world this year, which killed 25 people and
destroyed thousands of homes earlier this month. "Rest assured, the government will not leave anybody
behind," Duterte said in a national address, pledging shelter,
relief goods, financial aid and counselling.
Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated before Vamco arrived
late on Wednesday packing winds of 155 kilometres (96 miles) per
hour and gusts of up to 255 kph (158 mph). It has since weakened
and exited the mainland.
Duterte told Southeast Asian leaders the devastation of
recent weeks was "a stark reminder of the urgency of collective
action to combat the effects of climate change".
'OVERWHELMING'
Nearly three million households in and around Manila were
without power as people waded through waist-high floods,
carrying valuables and pets.
Coastguard swam through brown floodwater as high as
electricity poles in some areas, while rescue workers used
rubber boats and makeshift floats to move children and the
elderly to safety.
In some suburbs east of Manila, residents took refuge atop
flooded homes.
"The flood reached the entire second floor of our house. For
more than eight hours, we stayed at our neighbour's house," call
center worker Albert Rano, 35, told Reuters.
"Aside from some clothes and laptops, nothing is left."
The typhoons have battered the Philippines as it faces an
uphill struggle to breathe life into its withering economy while
keeping coronavirus infections under control. Roughly 40,000 homes had either been fully or partially
submerged in the Marikina area, a situation its mayor, Marcelino
Teodoro, said was "overwhelming" and the worst since a typhoon
flooded large swathes of the capital in 2009.
"The local government cannot handle this," Teodoro told DZMM
radio, requesting motorised boats and airlifts.
Residents posted images on social media of flooded homes and
the disaster agency said parts of 36 cities and towns were
inundated.
Flights and mass transit in Manila were suspended and port
operations stopped. Government work was halted and financial
markets shut.
Vamco was headed towards Vietnam, where devastating floods
and mudslides over the past month have killed at least 160
people in central areas.