Rescue operations are continuing in the Philippines after devastating flash floods caused by the heaviest rains in more than four decades. The government says more than a quarter of a million people have been displaced and at least 70 people have been killed. Rescuers are using helicopters and inflatable boats to reach thousands of people still trapped on rooftops in Manila and surrounding areas. Around eighty per cent of the capital is reported to be under water after more than 40 centimeters of rain fell in a single day yesterday. Power and telephone lines are down and many roads are blocked by abandoned vehicles hampering the rescue effort. The authorities have warned that further flooding may hit the northern Philippines as tropical storm Ketsana with winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour is still over Luzon and is expected to head out over the South China sea today or tomorrow. The Philippines' chief weather forecaster has blamed climate change for the downfalls.