CALUMPIT, Philippines - As floods which have swamped parts of the Philippines and affected more than two million people extend into their second week, the dead and the living are sharing premium space on dry ground.
Teresa Concepcion and her extended family of five moved to the Catholic cemetery in Calumpit town, on the main island of Luzon, on Wednesday after their house went under chest-deep floodwaters. Both they and the water have stayed put since.
The Concepcions have set up camp on the tops of tombs that sit like islands atop the murky water. Some of the bigger tombs have roofs, providing a dry spot even during the rain.
"We believe in ghosts, but they have not troubled us. Maybe they took pity on us and allowed us to stay," the 34-year-old unwed mother of two told AFP on Saturday as she dried driftwood with which to cook their food.
Her mother was also keeping busy, taking advantage of a break in the rain to wash clothes.
But her father, who gets paid 300 pesos (s$11.79) for burying the dead, is temporarily out of work because funerals have been put off until after the disaster.
In the capital Manila, several cemeteries are home to entire communities of settlers who dwell among the tombs year round and eke out a living as scavengers in nearby rubbish dumps.
The Concepcions appeared quite relaxed about remaining at the cemetery which is just across the road from their home.
"We had done this once before, and three of our neighbours have told us they plan to join us," she said. "But we could do with food rations though."
The family has survived on buying instant noodles and tins of sardines from a nearby store.
The floods, which submerged about 80 percent of Manila for about two days early last week, have killed 66 people and affected 2.68 million others, according to the government.
Large areas of Calumpit, a farming town 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the capital, have been swamped with floods for a week, as have surrounding areas on the low-lying, rice-growing plains at the centre of Luzon.
While most of the waters in the capital had receded by Friday, large areas of central Luzon remained paralysed by waters that remain chest-deep in some parts.
More than 441,000 people displaced by the floods are crammed into schools, gymnasiums and other government-run makeshift evacuation centres.
Tens of thousands more have been converging on the centres each day, and the government has repeatedly said the refuges are overwhelmed. Those who cannot find space there have sought shelter elsewhere.
Rosie Flores, 52, and 30 other people arrived at a small village Catholic church in Paombong, the town neighbouring Calumpit, on the first day of the floods.
Teresa Concepcion and her extended family of five moved to the Catholic cemetery in Calumpit town, on the main island of Luzon, on Wednesday after their house went under chest-deep floodwaters. Both they and the water have stayed put since.
The Concepcions have set up camp on the tops of tombs that sit like islands atop the murky water. Some of the bigger tombs have roofs, providing a dry spot even during the rain.
"We believe in ghosts, but they have not troubled us. Maybe they took pity on us and allowed us to stay," the 34-year-old unwed mother of two told AFP on Saturday as she dried driftwood with which to cook their food.
Her mother was also keeping busy, taking advantage of a break in the rain to wash clothes.
But her father, who gets paid 300 pesos (s$11.79) for burying the dead, is temporarily out of work because funerals have been put off until after the disaster.
In the capital Manila, several cemeteries are home to entire communities of settlers who dwell among the tombs year round and eke out a living as scavengers in nearby rubbish dumps.
The Concepcions appeared quite relaxed about remaining at the cemetery which is just across the road from their home.
"We had done this once before, and three of our neighbours have told us they plan to join us," she said. "But we could do with food rations though."
The family has survived on buying instant noodles and tins of sardines from a nearby store.
The floods, which submerged about 80 percent of Manila for about two days early last week, have killed 66 people and affected 2.68 million others, according to the government.
Large areas of Calumpit, a farming town 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the capital, have been swamped with floods for a week, as have surrounding areas on the low-lying, rice-growing plains at the centre of Luzon.
While most of the waters in the capital had receded by Friday, large areas of central Luzon remained paralysed by waters that remain chest-deep in some parts.
More than 441,000 people displaced by the floods are crammed into schools, gymnasiums and other government-run makeshift evacuation centres.
Tens of thousands more have been converging on the centres each day, and the government has repeatedly said the refuges are overwhelmed. Those who cannot find space there have sought shelter elsewhere.
Rosie Flores, 52, and 30 other people arrived at a small village Catholic church in Paombong, the town neighbouring Calumpit, on the first day of the floods.
