Monsoons In Manila

[Fatcat]

The rainy season has started in Manila. How do you who live there cope with it? I mean 20" of rain in both July and August is quite a lot. Is there a pattern to the rainfall so that one can work around it? Does it rain only at certain times during the day leaving the rest of the day with sunshine? or is it gloom all the time? The forecasts I see indicate "scattered thunderstorms" allmost every day. I don't know if I should go to Manila now or postpone a trip until the dry season starts in November. I'd like to hear from people who actually live there.

[retired]

Can't speak for Manila but in Northern Mindanao it's dry season . In the ten years have lived in the Philippines my observation is that rainy vs dry has shifted quite a bit and is much less predictable . As for how it rains can be torrential for hrs or steady for days . Thunderstorms tend to be later in the day from heat build up like anywhere else and will depend in large part on how close you are to the water . A link on your computer to the NASA weather satelite will come in handy as i would not totaly depend on the Philippine system . :-) Most importantly before moving in anywhere in this country evaluate elevation of the area and drainage which tends to be very poor here due to polution and poor planning . Oh , and why i am at it , remember this country has 100 million people and only roughly 20 % of all waste is treated before being discharged into open water . :-)

[samatm]

Live High my friend. Live High.

[mariposa]

It rained today. Mostly by afternoon there's rain shower. But even f it rained the temp. is hot... expect not to find a fresh air. Its because of over pollution. And its noisy... I want to go in Tawi tawi hayss.

[TheMason]

I lived in Manila for a while. The monsoons are only an issue in certain parts of town. When it rains, it lasts anywhere from hours to days at a time. How much it impacts you depends on where you live. If everything you want to do is close by within walking distance, the monsoons are more of an inconvenience than a hazard. Some parts of town flood horribly though. In general, the northern part of Manila floods the worst (Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Valenzuela) but there are pockets throughout the city that are impassable when it rains. If you're not familiar with the floods in the part of town you'll be staying in, then it would be best to reschedule.

I never had a flooding problem in Makati or Malate/Ermita.

[Fatcat]

I lived in Manila for a while. The monsoons are only an issue in certain parts of town. When it rains, it lasts anywhere from hours to days at a time. How much it impacts you depends on where you live. If everything you want to do is close by within walking distance, the monsoons are more of an inconvenience than a hazard. Some parts of town flood horribly though. In general, the northern part of Manila floods the worst (Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Valenzuela) but there are pockets throughout the city that are impassable when it rains. If you're not familiar with the floods in the part of town you'll be staying in, then it would be best to reschedule.

I never had a flooding problem in Makati or Malate/Ermita.

Thanks, that's very helpful first hand information.

[samatm]

I lived in Manila for a while. The monsoons are only an issue in certain parts of town. When it rains, it lasts anywhere from hours to days at a time. How much it impacts you depends on where you live. If everything you want to do is close by within walking distance, the monsoons are more of an inconvenience than a hazard. Some parts of town flood horribly though. In general, the northern part of Manila floods the worst (Malabon, Navotas, Caloocan, Valenzuela) but there are pockets throughout the city that are impassable when it rains. If you're not familiar with the floods in the part of town you'll be staying in, then it would be best to reschedule.

I never had a flooding problem in Makati or Malate/Ermita.

It took me over 2.5 hours to reach makati from ermita due to flooding. I saw scenes like this out of my taxi window:

[retired]

Welcome to the Philippines . Don't know when the video was taken but not aware of any "Monsoons" hitting the Philippines lately . Looks more like typical Philippine flooding based on poor drainage than anything else . :-)

[samatm]

Welcome to the Philippines . Don't know when the video was taken but not aware of any "Monsoons" hitting the Philippines lately . Looks more like typical Philippine flooding based on poor drainage than anything else . :-)

I posted that video because an earlier poster said he never had a problem with flooding in Ermita/Malate or Makati. I couldn't help but think of the storm I was in in 09 and the water ws high in Ermita and Road blocked in Makati as well. I found the footage of flooding in Ermita in 2010.

[Fatcat]

Welcome to the Philippines . Don't know when the video was taken but not aware of any "Monsoons" hitting the Philippines lately . Looks more like typical Philippine flooding based on poor drainage than anything else . :-)

I posted that video because an earlier poster said he never had a problem with flooding in Ermita/Malate or Makati. I couldn't help but think of the storm I was in in 09 and the water ws high in Ermita and Road blocked in Makati as well. I found the footage of flooding in Ermita in 2010.

How long does it take for the water to go down and for things to get back to normal? I can ony tread water for a few hours