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Flooded streets of Manila taken at around 10pm on Saturday, August 11, 2018. Image Credit: Twitter

Manila: The southwest monsoon (also known as "Habagat") enhanced by Tropical Storm Yagi (known locally as "Karding") has triggered floods in low-lying areas of Manila and nearby provinces.


Weathermen said early on Sunday that it will continue to bring scattered to widespread monsoon rains over Northern Luzon, Central Luzon and the western section of Southern Luzon.

A scene showing knee-deep flood on España Street in Manila, near the University of Santo Tomas.  Twitter

At 9pm on Saturday, the water level on Marikina River already reached at 20.32 metres, prompting the government to force the evacuation of thousands of residents in low-lying areas.

A Facebook post on Saturday showing the Marikina River level indicator.   Facebook

Up to 5,000 people had to leave their home in Marikina, a suburb of Manila, due to the high water level reached by the Marikina River.

As of 2am on August 12, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-Asa) also reported heavy rainfall in neighbouring provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, Bataan, Zambalez, Pampanga and Bulacan.

In particular, moderate to at times heavy rains are expected over Metro Manila, Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Rizal.

Residents of these areas were advised to take appropriate actions against possible flooding and landslides, coordinate with local disaster risk reduction and management offices, and continue monitoring for updates.

At 8pm on Saturday, the "red" warning level was still up for Manila and Rizal provinces.


Pag-Asa warned that sea travel remains risky over the main island of Luzon's western seaboard. 

Manila-based news site Rappler reported that the monsoon caused flooding along España Boulevard in the city of Manila, and showed video clips of commuters braving the flooded road reaching up to their knees.