QC rainfall ‘phenomenal,’ says QC-DRRMO

Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (QC-DRRMO) spokesperson Peachy de Leon on Sunday described the rainfall experienced in the city as extraordinary compared to previous downpours.

“The rainfall yesterday was really ‘phenomenal’… In just 24 hours, the amount of rainfall was truly high in such a short span of time,” she said in Filipino, explaining that flood levels in the city reached 141 millimeters compared to the usual 121 millimeters.

According to De Leon, rescuers were deployed to relocate flood victims. Evacuations were still ongoing as of 11:15 PM on Saturday and continued into Sunday.

“In the waterways, when the San Juan River was placed under Alert Level 3, the areas it passed through were really the ones that experienced flooding,” De Leon explained.

In San Antonio, Quezon City, Barangay Captain Daniel Berroya on Saturday, posted about their situation after the heavy rain: “Bumaha ba ng tubig? Bakit mas bumaha pa ang basura? Bakit kaya? (Did the water really flood? Why did the garbage flood even more? I wonder why?),” along with photos and videos showing flood debris that covered the streets.

Barangay Public Safety Officer, Shiela Samoraga told DAILY TRIBUNE that such flooding is a usual scenario, as their barangay serves as a catchment area, leading to the accumulation of debris from other barangays carried by the San Juan River.

Meanwhile, Berroya later shared a Facebook update showing a now-cleaned street. “Walang imposible sa bayanihan (Nothing is impossible through communal unity),” he said, thanking the QC Environmental Team and the Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works of Quezon City for the swift cleanup.

Meanwhile, PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction Chief Analiza Solis said the phenomenon was caused by severe thunderstorms, which are localized storms of short duration but with heavy rainfall.

She added that such events can occur anywhere, not just in cities, and are considered normal weather occurrences, especially during the habagat (southwest monsoon) season.