ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Floods caused by several days of heavy rain have displaced some 17,000 people in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga City, officials say.
Five people are also reported to have drowned, Philippine Daily Inquirer.net reported Wednesday.
A weather system known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, sometimes known as "the doldrums," had caused rain to linger over the region, saturating the soil and causing flooding, said Maribel Enriquez, chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration station in Zamboanga City.
The five days of continuous rain had flooded 25 districts or villages in the city, causing at least one landslide that blocked a main highway. Local officials suspended schools on Wednesday and flights from Zamboanga City were canceled because the runway was flooded.
Nearly 7,000 people were housed in shelters Wednesday morning, disaster officials said.
