On the morning of Saturday the 11 August 2018, the region of Ilocos, Cordillera, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimropa, and Metro Manila (NCR) in the Philippines, was massively flooded due to incessant rains brought by the southwest monsoon enhanced by Typhoon Yagi (local name Karding) with maximum sustained winds of 75 km/h near the center and gusts of up to 90 km/h. As of August 12 at 4:00 PM, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has reported 532,066 families or 2,231,101 persons affected in 1,835 barangays. Of which, a total of 88,131families or 382,996 persons are being served inside and outside the evacuation centers. Orange and Red Alerts, indicating 15mm-30mm rainfall, were issued intermittently over NCR, Calabarzon and Central Luzon. As a result of heightened alerts in 24 hours, about 978 areas in the aforementioned regions have been submerged by floods, with some areas reaching up to 20 feet high, inundating houses, vehicles, and roads; of which, floodwaters in 778 areas have already subsided. At least 4 dams opened its gates to release water, and 3 major rivers rose in an alarming level which caused forced evacuation to thousands of people. This flooding damaged at least 8,551 houses, and has left 16 casualties as of this writing. Cost damages to infrastructure and agriculture totalling to PHP 4,660,611,453 (USD 87,580,784) posing further challenges to the recovery of the affected population. The prevailing southwest monsoon and the pressing needs has prompted 28 local government units and 4 provinces in 7 regions now to declare a state of calamity.
