Boy climbs a tree to escape from flash floods

Tropical Depression Queenie swept through the Philippines yesterday, triggering flash floods and gale-force winds across the country. Amidst the confusion, this video has emerged of a little boy climbing a palm tree in Cebu, in a bid to escape the flood. The woman who took the video said that he called out for help, saying that his mother was dead.

The mother’s body was later found on the other side of the river where they lived. It has been confirmed that she and her six-year-old son, Jason, were sleeping inside their shanty on the riverside, when the river burst its banks in the small hours of Thursday morning. Their neighbours eventually managed to rescue Jason from the tree, 500 metres from where their house used to stand.

In the wake of the flash floods, around one hundred families have been evacuated from Cebu. Throughout the Philippines, at least three people have been confirmed dead and five reported as missing in the last 24 hours.