Heavy rains brought about by the Southwest Monsoon pounded Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Tuesday, causing dams and rivers to overflow and bringing widespread flooding in places such as Marikina, Malabon, and Valenzuela.
These floods just came less than three years after Typhoon Ketsana (local name Ondoy) dumped a month's worth of rainfall in many areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, with Pasig, Marikina (especially Provident Village), Cainta, and Quezon City being the worst hit areas. The death toll exceeded 400 and thousands had to flee their homes.
This time around, the La Mesa Dam had gone beyond its spilling level, while the Marikina River had reached a critical point. Thousands of families in these areas were forced to evacuate by their respective local government units. Power had been knocked out in some areas and many were left stuck in their homes and needed to be rescued. The University of the East-Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center (UE-RMMC), for instance, was flooded, leaving patients and staff stuck at the upper levels. By Tuesday night, the hospital was already running low on food and diesel for their generators.
Throughout the day, the social networking site Twitter was used by many Metro Manila residents to disseminate information about their relatives or friends or even strangers who needed to be rescued from their homes.
"Pls help the people here in TUA High School along E. Rod they need food, water, clothes and blankets! #rescuePH pls RT!" actress Lauren Young (@loyoung) Tweeted.
According to the Department of Science and Technology's Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards), the rain that fell over Metro Manila on Tuesday had exceeded that of Ondoy's--accumulated rainfall this time had reached 472mm in a period of 22 hours, as opposed to the 455mm of rainfall that fell in 24 hours back in 2009.
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The University of Asia and the Pacific is now accepting your donations (clothes, medicines, foods, blankets, etc.) for the flood victims! Just drop off your donations at the University of Asia and the Pacific entrance along Pearl Drive in Ortigas Center, Pasig City anytime. Willing volunteers could also follow @uapasia on Twitter or you may check out go.uap.asia/hopes for more info.
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