InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines – Heavy rains brought by an enhanced southwest monsoon early Saturday caused floods in low-lying areas of Metro Manila, triggering as well anxieties over an "Ondoy Part 2", as evidenced by netizens' chatter on Twitter.
By 10 am, several areas in Metro Manila were under red warning status, meaning the rate of rainfall was measured at more than 30 millimetres every hour. Areas under red warning - such as Marikina, Malabon, Navotas and Caloocan - were advised to evacuate residents in low-lying areas over fears of flooding.
Based on data from the observation department of the Philippine weather bureau, Pagasa, rains in Quezon City rose steadlly over the morning. The hourly rainfall reports showed how the volume of rain rose through the early hours of Saturday:
It then began to slow down at 11 am when rains reached 9.0 mm, which is still considered heavy.
But it was the Manila port area which raised alarm first when Pagasa noted rains falling at 19 mm in just 30 minutes between 8 and 9 am. This was followed by gutter-deep to knee-high floods in roads in Taft Avenue as well as roads in Quezon City.
The incessant rains caused many Metro Manila residents to turn to Twitter and wonder whether the rains forebode of a second "Ondoy" tragedy.
In September 2009, tropical storm Ondoy dumped a month’s worth of rain - or an average 56.8 mm per hour - between 10 am and 4 pm. The abnormal rainfall submerged 80 percent of Metro Manila in floods, the hardest hit of which were Marikina, Quezon City and Pasig. Ondoy has since been the storm by which all other storms are measured against. It has also become part of the Filipino vocabulary that denotes heavy rains followed by massive floods.
“Hate the rain. It’s like Ondoy Again,” said Paulina Alano (@theonlypaulina).
“Today's weather reminds me of Ondoy where relentless raining started early hours of Sat too. Hope impact is very minimal this time,” said Mark (@markeyrrl) in his tweet.
Many Filipinos were all keen on figuring out if the Saturday rains would be a sequel of the 2009 deluge that “Ondoy” briefly became a trending topic on Twitter Philippines at 9 am.
But Pagasa weather forecaster Jori Loiz told InterAksyon that, while the rains might be troubling, it is still far from the rainfall experienced during Ondoy.
He said the rains all over Metro Manila are from the enhanced southwest monsoon or Habagat that the tropical depression ‘Ferdie’ pulled as it continued its westward track out of the country.
He assured that, while the rains are increasing, it may not likely make a repeat of Ondoy.
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