Philippines: Typhoon Ulysses (Vamco) hit Manila on November 11

Tens of thousands of residents in Manila are stuck in their homes, which were submerged by the floods caused by typhoon Ulysses. Many motorists are stranded due to the flooded roads. Many rescuers can be seen on boats cruising the roads to save people from drowning, bringing them to higher and safer places.

Nick Puatu from the Philippines was able to capture the devastating effect of typhoon Ulysses. His drone footage shows flooded Antipolo, Cainta and Marikina cities. He said: “Typhoon Ulysses is massive, just like what happened during Ondoy, where millions of properties were devastated and claimed many lives. No one slept, everyone is worrying that their houses will be flooded. It is heartbreaking to see posts of my friends in social media, so I decided to take my drone out to see the devastation caused by this typhoon. I can’t even leave our house now, as our village and nearby areas here in Lower Antipolo and Marikina are already flooded. We are also scared that this doesn’t really help us with flattening the curve. We are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and then we get hit by a typhoon yet again.”

Olga Barcelona, Head of Operations for a creative agency in Dubai, is worried as her family lives in the affected area of Marikina. She told gulfnews.com: “Our house was devastated by typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Lost a lot of personal belongings even cars, furniture were damaged. It is worrying when I learned about typhoon Ulysses, which hit our area again. Our neighbourhood is near the Marikina River, which means we get easily flooded. The floods are inside our house now, knee-deep water, my brother and his family went to check-in into the nearest hotel with his wife and three children. My parents remained in the house, stranded on the second floor. It is very stressful living away, knowing that your family and loved ones in Manila are facing another wrath of a typhoon. I am praying and hoping that the rain stops so they can go back to normal.”