MANILA, Philippines – It was a storm that caught everyone by surprise.
On this day in 2009, Ondoy (international codename Ketsana) brought massive rainfall and caused severe flooding in Luzon, particularly in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.
In just 9 hours, Ondoy dumped over a month’s volume of rain. The typhoon lasted for a few days, but the recovery from it was long, tough and, to those directly affected, painful.
In recent years, rains brought by the southwest monsoon – locally known as habagat – and enhanced by nearby storms have become as destructive as the storms that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
In August 2012, the habagat was enhanced by a typhoon with international codename Haikui.
In the same month the following year, another habagat was enhanced by severe tropical storm Maring (international name Trami).
Rappler collated comparative information on tropical storm Ondoy and the monsoon rains of August 2012 and August 2013:
– Rappler.com