Several regions in East Asia are witnessing major weather disturbances, as the heavy rains that fall in the region these days of the year have caused floods that have left dozens of victims, injured and missing so far.
In the Philippines, the authorities relocated thousands of residents of the capital, Manila, from their low-lying areas on Saturday, after torrential monsoon rains flooded the capital and neighboring provinces with water, exacerbated by a tropical storm.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said about 14,000 people were taken to evacuation centers, most of them from a flood-prone suburb of Manila.
"We ask residents of the affected areas to remain alert and vigilant, to take precautionary measures and to cooperate with local authorities," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.
Floods covered several regions in India and left dozens of victims (French)
harsh atmosphere
Severe weather has swept many parts of the world in recent weeks, causing floods in China, India and Western Europe and heat waves in North America, raising new concerns about the impact of climate change.
Meteorologists say the Philippines, home to more than 7,600 islands, experiences about 20 tropical storms a year, but the warmer Pacific Ocean will make storms stronger and bring heavier rains.
Fears of a tsunami increased after a strong earthquake struck south of the capital, Manila.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on Saturday that an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 occurred off the town of Calatagan in Batangas province and nearby provinces.
The institute said that an aftershock with a magnitude of 5.1 struck the same area 8 minutes after the earthquake.
The director of the institute, Renato Solidum, said that no tsunami waves are expected due to the two earthquakes, whose epicenter was at a depth of 100 km.
India
In India, the death toll from floods and landslides rose to 125, and rescue teams there struggled while wading through mud and rubble on Saturday to reach dozens of submerged homes as the death toll from landslides and accidents caused by heavy monsoon rains rose in the country.
Experts say Maharashtra is experiencing the wettest month of July in 40 years.
Heavy rains over several days affected hundreds of thousands of people, and there are dangers of large rivers from flooding their banks.
A senior state government official said the death toll had risen to 42 in the village of Tali, about 180 km southeast of Mumbai, India's financial capital, with four more bodies recovered after landslides flattened most homes in the village.
He pointed out that rescue workers are searching for landslide victims in 4 other areas of the state.
"Around 90,000 people have been rescued from the flood affected areas," the Maharashtra government said in a statement.
Indian Navy
Units of the navy and the air force are participating in the rescue efforts after the rains caused floods that isolated thousands of citizens, but rescue operations are hampered by landslides that cut off roads, including the main highway linking Bombay to Goa.
The water level reached 3.5 meters in areas of Chiplun, 250 kilometers from Bombay, after 24 hours of non-stop rain, causing the Vashishti River to overflow, inundating roads and homes.
The Indian Navy has deployed 7 rescue teams equipped with rubber boats, life jackets and buoys in the affected areas, as well as a helicopter to airlift the trapped residents, and each team is accompanied by specialized navy divers.
The Indian Meteorological Department issued warnings to several areas in the state, indicating that heavy rains will continue in the coming days.
Floods and landslides are common during India's rainy season, which runs from June to September, and also cause buildings and walls to collapse that do not comply with building standards.
Europe
Several regions around the world have experienced severe weather in the past few weeks, with floods sweeping China and western Europe and heat waves lashing North America, raising concerns about the impact of climate change.
In recent days, strong floods hit European countries, and the number of victims rose to 184, including more than 157 in Germany alone, as well as injuring more than 670 others, in the worst natural disaster in the country in nearly 60 years.
Last Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the damage caused by the floods in the west of the country as frightening, and pledged the state's aid for reconstruction.
This, the torrential rain reached Austria, southern neighbor of Germany.
Merkel said - at a press conference after a visit to one of the affected villages - that she was shocked by the extent of this damage, and told residents of the small town of Adenau in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, "It is horrific ... words cannot describe the devastation that has occurred."