Manila, Philippines – With the exception of a few pieces of hanging laundry, the first two floors of 65-year-old Veronica Castillo’s three-storey home are practically empty.
“Our belongings are up top. We build our houses upwards here. Every year the floods will scrape the ceilings of the second floor,” Castillo told media, surveying her home in one of Marikina city’s slums, among the most flood-prone areas of Metro Manila.
But while the government is building a pumping station to address the problem just five minutes away, construction has been going on so long that Castillo wonders whether it will ever be finished. “It’s been eight years,” she said.
Since taking office in 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has spent about half a trillion dollars to address persistent flooding from extreme weather in the Philippines. But despite the significant spending, cities continue to be inundated in a country that typically sees about 20 typhoons a year.
During a speech in July, Marcos Jr boasted about his administration completing more than 5,000 flood control projects, of which 656 were in Metro Manila.
Days later, Super Typhoon Gaemi deposited a month’s worth of rain on the area within 24 hours, killing dozens and leaving parts of the sprawling city submerged.
Earlier this month, it was followed by Tropical Storm Yagi. Officials put the cost of the damage at 4.7 billion Philippine pesos ($84.3m) with nearly seven million people affected.
At least a dozen more typhoons are expected before the end of the year.
The Philippines has topped the World Risk Index‘s list of countries struggling to cope with natural hazards for 16 years in a row. According to the international engineering group GHD, floods and storms will cost the nation $124bn by 2050.
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