MANILA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms hit the Philippine capital region as the country was affected by tropical storm Pabuk that passed by the northern region on Wednesday, the third day in a row since flash floods started causing trouble for citizens on the street, although there was no casualty reported.

    Residents of Metro Manila found themselves stranded in flash floods in several low-lying areas of the metropolis.

    "The deepest flood levels we monitored was neck-deep," Malabon City public information officer Bong Padua told local radio dzBB.

    The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)'s flood monitoring unit told reporters that at least four major thoroughfares were rendered impassable to light vehicles on Wednesday.

    Radio reports said knee-deep floods affected parts of Taft Avenue, a major road that runs across two cities and the Sampaloc district in Metro Manila.

    Scores of commuters and motorists were stranded in Paranaque City and Pasay City as vehicles stalled in the floods, according to the reports. Pedicab drivers were seen using the sidewalks for transporting their passengers, while local residents used benches as makeshift bridges and promptly charged pedestrians for using them.

    Police and traffic aides were noticeably absent from streets as private and public vehicles were forced to go slow to prevent their engines from stalling, a report by GMA TV said.

    Rescuers on Wednesday saved five young siblings trapped for three hours under a collapsed wall in Antipolo City, a report by ABS-CBN TV said. Authorities said the wall collapsed on a house after heavy rains caused the wall's foundation to shift. Nobody was killed in the wall collapse.

    The Department of Education suspended classes in the elementary and high school levels in Metro Manila on Wednesday morning. Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador apologized to the public for giving the late advisory, local radio DZMM reported.

    "We've suspended classes in the elementary and high school levels. Weather bureau reported that the rain would continue for the rest of the day," Labrador was quoted by the radio as saying.

    Tropical storm Pabuk has crossed the southern tip of Taiwan island and continues to move westward towards southern Chinese mainland, the Philippine state weather bureau reported on Wednesday. It continued to pack maximum sustained winds of 110 kph and gustiness of 140 kph, and continued to move west at 22 kph, the authority said.

    However, the forecasters said that following Pabuk another new tropical depression is forming on the west Pacific Ocean.