Rising temperatures have forced the government to shut down tens of thousands of schools over the past week, while increased demand has stressed the country's already strained power supply.
A widespread El Nino drought that began early this year is compounding the problem, ruining 5.9 billion pesos ($103 million) worth of farm produce so far according to the Department of Agriculture.
The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines issued an "Oratio Imperata", instructing parishes in the mainly Catholic nation to recite a prayer for deliverance from calamities during masses, according to the text seen by AFP on Saturday.
"We humbly ask you to grant us relief from the extreme heat that besets your people at this time, disrupting their activities and threatening their lives and livelihood," the prayer read.
"Send us rain to replenish our depleting water sources, to irrigate our fields, to stave off water and power shortages and to provide water for our daily needs."
A record-high 38.8 degrees Celsius (101.8 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in the capital Manila on April 27, forcing the closure of more than 47,000 schools for two days.
Nearly 8,000 schools remained shuttered as of Friday, the education department said, while the highest temperature in the country was recorded at 38.2C on the island of Mindoro south of the capital.
15 dead in Indonesia landslides, floods: disaster agency
Jakarta (AFP) May 4, 2024 -
At least 15 people have died after landslides and flooding in central Indonesia swept away dozens of houses and damaged roads, the country's disaster agency said Saturday.
Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, with the problem aggravated in some places by deforestation, with prolonged torrential rain causing flooding in some areas of the archipelago nation.
The landslides struck Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday just after 1:00 am local time, said Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), in a statement.
"A total of 14 residents died due to floods and landslides in Luwu regency, South Sulawesi province," he said.
The agency said more than 100 houses were seriously damaged and 42 were swept away, while four roads and one bridge were damaged.
More than 100 people were evacuated to mosques or relatives' homes and more than 1,300 families were affected with authorities trying to evacuate them.
In another area of South Sulawesi province, at least one person died and two others were injured in floods on Friday, Abdul said in another statement
In March flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island killed at least 30 people with scores still missing.
A landslide and flooding swept away dozens of houses and destroyed a hotel near Lake Toba on Sumatra in December, killing at least two people.
Indonesia has suffered a string of recent extreme weather events in its rainy season, which experts say are made more likely by climate change.
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