Skip to main content
News - 
Global

Relief Efforts Stretched as Latest Tropical Storm Causes Extensive Flooding in Manila

Manila – An unprecedented five tropical storms have made landfall in the Philippines in a short period of three weeks, beginning 25 October with Typhoon Molave (local name: Quinta) and continuing this week with severe tropical storm Vamco (Ulysses). Moreover, Vamco is the 21st tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, arriving just two weeks after Typhoon Goni (Rolly), which has been recorded as the strongest typhoon of 2020, so far. 

After making landfall on Wednesday (11/11) night, Vamco caused extensive flooding in parts of Metro Manila, particularly Marikina City, where stranded and desperate motorists waited out the flooding as water levels rose to a stage three alarm (22m), surpassing levels from 2009’s Typhoon Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy). In some places, residents and pets had to be rescued from rooftops as flood waters rose.  

Government rescue operations utilized boats and, in some cases, makeshift floating devices to reach affected communities stranded in homes with floodwater reaching up to the second stories of homes in some low-lying areas.   

As of last night (12/11), many areas in Marikina City were flooded with many roads remaining still impassable. Vamco has caused continuous heavy rain as the storm made its way through the sprawling National Capital Region, which has a population of nearly 13 million. 

According to preliminary data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center, Vamco affected more than 5.6 million persons. Vamco has resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people across the affected regions, as of the morning of 13 November, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government. 
 
Meanwhile, IOM’s response to the devastation wreaked by the previous tropical storms continue with IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) rapid needs assessment continuing in affected areas in Catanduanes and Albay, despite many municipalities proving impassable due to landslides blocking access. 
 
Priority needs remain shelter, food, mental health and psychosocial support, and health assistance. 
 
Currently, 950 emergency shelter-grade tarps and ropes from USAID Philippines are being distributed to affected families in Tiwi, Albay, beginning prior to landfall of Typhoon Vamco. These tarps will be used to provide quick shelter repair for families affected by the successive barrage of typhoons. 
 
Another 750 tarps and ropes are bound to arrive in Camarines Sur and 1,600 in Catanduanes over the weekend. 
 
Solar lamps from USAID Philippines are also being distributed in Albay (125 lamps), Camarines Sur (125 lamps) and Catanduanes (250 lamps). 
 
IOM teams also reinforce government protocols on COVID-19 in the evacuation sites across Albay and Catanduanes, as they distribute personal protective equipment (PPE), modular tents and shelter-grade tarps from USAID Philippines and the Germany Embassy in Manila. 
 
“We had the strongest typhoon last week since Haiyan in 2013 and now the biggest floods in Manila since Ondoy in 2009 – all in a very short period of time,” said Kristin Dadey, IOM Philippines Chief of Mission, after visiting some of the worst affected parts of Manila.  
 
Dadey added, “The Philippines is one of the least contributors to the cause of climate change and yet is one of the most impacted by it.” According to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2020, the Philippines is ranked the second country most affected by weather-related loss events, with recurrent exposure to tropical cyclones causing the greatest losses.  
 
Studies show that annually about 20 tropical cyclones enter the Philippines, averaging nine each year making landfall. Climate change is leading to stronger, longer-lasting typhoons. Rising sea levels are also a grave concern, with water level rising at triple the global average.  
 
Consisting of more than 7,000 islands and with a population of over 100 million, it is projected that, within the next three decades, areas in the Philippines currently home to at least 8.6 million people will be likely directly impacted and submerged by sea-level rise and inundation. According to Climate Central, these areas include parts of Manila, Malabon, Bulacan, Pasay City, Iloilo cities, Cotabato, and many more.  
 
“Evidence in the Philippines suggests that recurrent climatic events like tropical storms are forcing people to migrate permanently from their residence,” said Dadey.   

To raise climate awareness and action, IOM Philippines this past August launched the Climate Change Adaptation and Community Resilience in the Philippines Project (CARP), funded by the IOM Development Fund. Partnering with national and local government—including the Climate Change Commission (CCC), academic and research institutes—and the private sector, the programme aims to enhance understanding of climate change and its impacts on human mobility among general public, media and local governments. 
 
For more information, please contact Kristin Dadey at IOM Philippines, Tel: +63 917 803 5009, Email: kdadey@iom.int , or Itayi Viriri, at the IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok) at Tel: +66 65 939 0934, Email: iviriri@iom.int 

Share this page via:

Regions
Office type
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Asia and the Pacific
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas (The)
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic (the)
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros (the)
Congo (the)
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic (the)
East and Horn of Africa
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Eritrea
Estonia
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Europe and Central Asia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia (the)
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Global Office in Brussels
Global Office in Washington
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
IOM Office at the United Nations
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Iraq
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People's Democratic Republic (the)
Latin America and the Caribbean
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Manila Administrative Centre
Marshall Islands (the)
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Middle East and North Africa
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
New Zealand
Niger (the)
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Panama Administrative Centre
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines (the)
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Republic of Korea
Republic of Moldova (the)
Romania
Russian Federation (the)
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
Subregional Office in Brussels
Subregional Office in Pretoria
Sudan (the)
Sweden
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic (the)
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
United Republic of Tanzania (the)
UNSC Resolution 1244-Administered Kosovo
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Viet Nam
West and Central Africa
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe