A relentless Southwest Monsoon poured almost 186 millimeters of rain over Metro Manila across a 23-hour period from Friday through Saturday morning, according to data released by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Sunday.
The agency cited precipitation records gathered from the DOST-PAGASA Science Garden Station in Quezon City, which tracked the heavy downpour between 9:00 a.m. on August 29 and 8:00 a.m. on August 30.
“Based on records from the DOST-PAGASA Science Garden Station in Quezon City, the amount of rainfall dumped on Metro Manila reached 186 millimeters (mm) within 23 hours, from 9 a.m. on August 29 until 8 a.m. today, August 30,” the MMDA stated.
The state weather bureau PAGASA previously noted that a significant portion of the deluge—143.5 mm—fell in a brief nine-hour window between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Despite the extreme rainfall, the MMDA reported that floodwaters across several areas in the capital region have begun to subside. Emergency teams responded to inundated roadways by dispatching mobile pumping equipment, clearing obstructed drainage channels, and dredging key waterways.
“Some of the key measures implemented to alleviate flooding include the deployment of mobile pumps to speed up the drainage of accumulated water, as well as ongoing declogging and dredging operations in drainage systems and waterways, and the removal of trash and debris from drainage inlets,” the agency added.
Officials confirmed that 24/7 monitoring of major arterial roads will continue until all floodwaters completely drain from the metropolis.