Photo: Jolly Gozon/CNN Philippines
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 12) — Hundreds of residents were forced to flee their homes on Thursday as water in Marikina River steadily rose, moving closer to the peak level during the onslaught of Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009.
At 10:33 a.m., the water level rose to 22 meters — one meter below the 23 meters above sea level reached when Ondoy battered the country 11 years ago and left Marikina City submerged in floodwater for days.
Residents near the river were forced to evacuate at past 3 a.m. when the water rose to 18 meters due to nonstop rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses starting Wednesday night. The local government also deployed rescue boats to extricate stranded residents.
The typhoon is seen to continue bringing torrential rains to Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon until Thursday afternoon.
