Muddy streets, trash, floods remain after Saturday's NCR thunderstorm

Heavy rains due to a thunderstorm left streets flooded and strewn with muddy rubbish in Metro Manila over the weekend.

According to Vonne Aquino’s report on "24 Oras Weekend," powerful winds together with a heavy downpour were recorded on video outside a mall in Pasig City.

The uploader of the video said that the rain lasted for five minutes.

Residents of Barangay 202 in Tondo, Manila experienced thigh-high flooding after a canal overflowed and two pumping stations failed to work.

Sonny Sarmiento, chairman of Barangay 202, said they used a boat to help stranded residents.

“’Yung mga na-stranded namin mga constituents sa kanto ng Hermosa para makabalik sa ka nilang mga tahanan, ay sinundo namin ng mga bangka. At yung mga papasok sa trabaho ay inihatid namin papalabas,” Sarmiento said.

(Those stranded constituents at the corner of Hermosa were picked up by our boats so they can return home. We also ferried those who needed to get to work.)

On the other hand, residents at West River Side in Barangay San Antonio, Quezon City secured their belongings from the floods.

“Nagimpake po talaga ako agad… hindi na po talaga namin hinintay ng anak ko na umabot ang baha loob,” a resident said.

(We packed our things right away… we did not wait for the floodwater to reach our home.)

Carlos Arana's family was also seen cleaning their house.

“Inakyat ko lang ng inakyat ang gamit sa itaas… lahat ng gamit… ‘yung iba tulad ng refrigerator, nilabas namin sa labas ng bahay sa kalsada at yung mga motor nilagay din namin doon,” he said.

(We took our belongings upstairs… all our things… the others like the refrigerator, we placed it outside our house, and we also placed our motorcycles along the road.)

The residents were temporarily sheltered at a nearby church.

Floodwaters in front of the two malls in Quezon City were gutter-high, causing some vehicles to stop in the middle of the road.

Espana Boulevard and other roads around the metropolis similarly experienced gutter-deep floods

Meanwhile, the heavy rain left Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City swamped in chest-deep floodwaters.

Barangay officials similarly used a boat to evacuate the residents. However, some residents refused to evacuate because they did not want to leave their belongings.

Residents also had to deal with thick mud in the aftermath of the flooding.

Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection helped clean the trash along Araneta Avenue.

In Barangay Apolonio Samson, Quezon City residents asked for help on social media as they also experienced chest-deep floodwaters.

They said the construction of a riprap at a nearby river caused the flood, adding that the water could not flow freely because of the garbage that blocked the waterway leading out of the river.

“Pakiusap sana sa LGU o DPWH ay tuluyan na sanang asikasuhin doon… maalis ang mga nakabarang basura at ang daluyan ng tubig palabas ng ilog ay mabuksan at hindi masarhan,” said resident Jimmy Aoay.

(We asked the LGU or DPWH to take care of the construction immediately… remove the garbage that is blocking the waterway out of the river and it will be opened.)

PAGASA Senior Weather Specialist Chris Perez said that the heavy rains were caused by thunderstorms.

"Kahapon po ay may mga naganap na thunderstorm activity, hindi lamang dito sa Metro Manila, kung 'di maging sa mga ilang karatig na lalawigan sa Central and Southern Luzon area,” Perez said.

(Yesterday there were thunderstorm activities, not only here in Metro Manila, but also some neighboring provinces in the Central and Southern Luzon area.) — Mel Matthew Doctor/DVM, GMA News