Duterte assures aid after Typhoon Ulysses leaves 7 dead

President Rodrigo Duterte assured Filipinos that the government is on top of the situation amid Typhoon Ulysses, promising assistance in shelters, relief goods, and financial aid.

He ordered the police, military, and Philippine Coast Guard to deploy all their resources to help people stranded on their rooftops.

Duterte cut short his attendance of a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders to inspect the damage from Typhoon Ulysses, moments after a speech during which he urged his counterparts to urgently combat the effects of climate change.

The typhoon, the eighth to hit the Philippines in the past two months and 21st of the year, forced residents to scramble onto rooftops to await rescue after tens of thousands of homes were submerged.

At least seven people were killed across Luzon, including those who drowned, an elderly man hit by a tree, and three workers crushed when a warehouse collapsed.

The typhoon struck areas still reeling from Typhoon Rolly, which killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this month.

Even Duterte's office in Metro Manila was not spared from the typhoon, as floodwaters from the Pasig River reached the Malacañang complex.

Areas hit worst included houses near the Marikina River and Pasig River, drawing comparisons to Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009.