Half of Metro Manila submerged in floodwaters—NDRRMC

NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos.

MANILA, Philippines—Fifty percent of Metro Manila was flooded on Monday night as strong rains poured non-stop due to the southwest monsoon.

“About fifty percent of Metro Manila was flooded around 11 to 12 midnight last night,” Executive Director Benito Ramos of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) told reporters in an ambush interview Tuesday afternoon.

“Right now 30 percent might still be flooded,” he said.

Ramos said the reason for the continued floods was because the soil was very saturated from the past several days of continuous rains.

“The soil is saturated, where will the water go if the rain continues?” Ramos said. “If this continues the whole night, then we will have a problem.”

Ramos said that 17 towns in Laguna have already been flooded while four municipalities in Bulacan, Obando, Marilao, Hagonoy, and Calumpit, were also flooded.

Majority of the flooded areas in Metro Manila was in the Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela) area.

“Its like waterworld,” Ramos said referring to the movie. “The sea and the flood waters looked like one single body of water,” Ramos said.

“All cities and towns experienced flooding,” he added.

The NDRRMC has been on a red alert status as of eight in the morning Monday, Ramos said.

They have not yet received reports of casualties from the rains. Evacuees might need to stay in evacuation centers for quite some time, Ramos said.