Frequent Fires
A massive blaze swept through hundreds of shanties in a Manila slum, leaving about 8,000 people homeless and affecting around 2,000 families, according to the citys disaster management office. Many of the displaced were moved to a nearby evacuation center, and officials did not immediately confirm whether there were any fatalities or injuries.
The incident occurred in Isla Puting Bato, a shack-dwellers neighborhood perched on the breakwater of Manila’s North Port. The citys disaster management agency said the fire began on Sunday morning and was not contained by firefighters until nightfall.
Around 1,000 homes were destroyed, many built with highly flammable materials like wood and elevated on stilts over the water.
Urban Fires in Manila
Urban fires are a recurring problem in the Manila metropolitan area, a megacity home to over 14 million people where dense, informal housing and limited safety measures create significant fire risks for residents living in crowded conditions near waterfronts.
The same shanty district of Isla Puting Bato was struck by another blaze on April 10 that affected thousands of residents, and in August a fire inside a five-story building housing both homes and businesses in the citys Chinatown district resulted in eleven deaths.
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The most devastating incident in recent years occurred in 2017 in Davao City, where 37 people lost their lives in a shopping mall fire on the southern island chain.