Inferno destroys thousands of shanties in Manila’s biggest slum area

By Kathleen Magramo, photo curation by Noemi Cassanelli, Nov 25: A massive fire tore through a coastal shanty town in the Philippine capital on Sunday, leaving at least 2,000 families homeless as flames billowed for nearly eight hours.

Drone footage from the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office showed raging orange flames razing densely packed stilt homes in Isla Puting Bato, a squalid area of Tondo, Manila.

The Manila Fire District said around 1,000 houses were destroyed and roughly 8,000 people displaced in the blaze that broke out at 8 a.m. Sunday and burned until 4 p.m.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire disaster but blazes in Manila slums are often sparked by faulty electrical wiring or gas canisters.

Isla Puting Bato sits in the district of Tondo, which is Manila’s largest slum area home to roughly 654,220 people. Many live in shabby shacks across densely packed streets near a busy commercial port.

A Philippine Air Force helicopter drops water over shanty settlements ablaze in Tondo, Manila. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

People carry their belongings on a makeshift raft during a fire in Tondo, Manila. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP/Getty Images

There have been no immediate reports of casualties.

Photos showed residents escaping the fire on makeshift rafts into the sea while others scrambled to salvage their belongings.

Elvira Valdemoro, a 58-year-old Manila resident and shop owner was devastated by the damage.

“I feel bad because we have no livelihood and no home. Everything is gone. We don’t know how we can eat. We are in a very bad situation, and it’s almost Christmas,” she told Reuters.

Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan visited Isla Puting Bato on Monday and spoke with survivors who spent the night in makeshift tents.

“Please be patient. We will keep coming to deliver help. No one wanted this to happen,” Lacuna-Pangan told residents.

She urged residents to get registered and voluntarily evacuate to a temporary shelter, where meals and supplies would be delivered.

“We will help all of you. Don’t lose hope. Let’s help each other out ahead of Christmas time, we really hope to get you back to your homes.”