Floods damage thousands of houses in northern Philippines

Floodwaters reaching more than 4m high swamped thousands of houses in the storm-battered northern Philippines on Nov 19 after rivers overflowed following heavy rain and release of water from a dam.

Typhoon Man-yi drenched swaths of the country over the weekend, swelling the Cagayan River and tributaries as well as forcing the release of water from Magat Dam.

The Cagayan broke its banks, spilling water over already sodden farmland and communities, affecting tens of thousands of people.

Buildings, lamp posts and trees poked through a lake of brown water in Tuguegarao city in Cagayan province where provincial disaster official Ian Valdepenas said floodwaters reached more than 4m in some places.