Stranded commuters, motorists endure Metro Manila’s floods

MANILA, Philippines – On the streets, Wednesday, July 24, motorists and stranded commuters had to choose between waiting for hours or wading through floods.

In the intersection of Pablo Ocampo Street and Taft Avenue, floods were waist deep. Bystanders cheered on every passing car, daring them to brave the floods ahead before they would invariably turn back.

With a grin, children splashed in the murky waters, which carried twigs, leaves, and all manner of dead insects. Some enterprising men offered to ferry commuters from Pablo Ocampo to the nearby Vito Cruz LRT1 station using a floating plastic road barrier with chairs fixed on top of it. Only a few took up the offer.

Taft Avenue is no stranger to floods. The road, which runs beneath many of the LRT1’s stations and also serves a major university, practically turns into a river for hours during the rainy season. 

“Ganito talaga dito sa Taft (This is always how it is in Taft)!” a man on a bicycle shouted as he tried to ride through the waters.

Meanwhile, in Muñoz, Quezon City, pillars of vehicles stood at a standstill for hours along both sides of EDSA. Chest-deep floods made passing through the area dangerous, if not impossible. The waters did not discriminate – everything from motorcycles to SUVs to buses and even tankers carrying flammable fuel were brought to a halt. Any vehicle caught up in the mess had no way of backing out. 

A motorist, who had been stuck in the same spot for hours, told Rappler that the situation was even worse earlier in the day. Ever since 9 am, vehicles began struggling to cross that stretch of EDSA. Non-stop rain had caused the floods to surge even more until at one point, they rose high enough to submerge the concrete barriers of the EDSA Busway. 

But even with all the hours that they lost waiting for the floods to subside, the stranded motorists found small reasons to smile. As Rappler was setting up to report on the situation, motorcyclists were joking around that they had at least made it to a live broadcast.

Later, as the flood slowly began to abate, SUVs and pick-up trucks led the first charge, much to the cheers of the motorists. Some bikers and motorcycle riders then gingerly