Roxas Boulevard hip-high in floods

Roxas Boulevard swamped by floods caused by a monsoon surge. (photo by Mike Alquinto, NPPA Images)

Tweet

InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATE 3 - 12:28 p.m.) Portions of Roxas Boulevard in Manila were impassable due to thigh-high flooding on Wednesday morning.

It was only at 12:19 p.m. that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority declared both lanes of Roxas Boulevard, between Quirino and Rajah Sulayman finally "passable" but only to heavy vehicles.

Portions of the thoroughfare were closed to traffic as the (MMDA) blamed a "water surge" for the flooding.

In an advisory, the MMDA said both the southbound and northbound lanes of Quirino-Rajah Sulayman were experiencing floods, closing it to all vehicles.

Both lanes of the boulevard, which runs alongside Manila Bay, from Quirino to near the US embassy were swamped by what the Metro Manila Development Authority called a "water surge."

The US embassy sent its personnel home and suspended operations for the day because of the flooding. It advised visa applicants with appointments for Wednesday to contact the consular section for rescheduling.

The MMDA advised motorists intending to head north on Roxas Boulevard to turn right at Quirino to seek alternative routes.

Those headed south were advised to turn left at Kalaw St. 

The MMDA continues to monitor the traffic siuation in the area, and is constantly updating its Traffic Monitoring system, a joint project with TV5-InterAksyon.com. For real-time traffic information, motorists are advised to constantly and regularly check the TV5-MMDA Traffic Navigator.

Follow @interaksyon