Wall collapses, traps 5 children in torrential rain in Antipolo

MANILA (AP) - Five children escaped with minor injuries after a concrete wall collapsed on them in torrential rains Wednesday, while floodwaters _ some neck-deep _ swamped parts of the Philippine capital and outlying areas, officials said.

Policemen and firefighters pulled the children from the rubble of the wall that buried their house at dawn during a storm in Antipolo city near Manila, police Chief Superintendent Nicasio Radovan said.

The children, who had yelled for help from under the debris, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Radovan said.

The downpour, induced by Tropical Storm Pabuk and a new storm brewing off the country's northeast, flooded many streets in metropolitan Manila, forcing schools to close and leaving commuters stranded, officials said. Rain is forecast for the coming days.

Pabuk was blowing from the Philippines' mountainous north and heading toward southern Taiwan, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Floodwaters submerged nearly all of suburban Malabon city near the capital, with the waters reaching up to neck deep in some low-lying neighborhoods. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the city, local government spokesman Bong Padua said.

The rains followed a three-month dry spell that prompted clergy to urge congregations across the predominantly Roman Catholic country to pray for rain over the weekend. The dry spell had led to water shortages and caused sporadic electricity blackouts in the bustling capital.