2025 Philippine monsoon floods
The 2025 Philippine monsoon floods were a series of floods caused by a southwest monsoon during the month of July. It was significantly enhanced by Tropical Storm Wipha and Tropical Storm Co-may, causing major damage over the northern portion of the Philippines. Due to a Southwest monsoon season and two storms, Wipha and Co-may, massive flooding was produced. Rainfall warnings were hoisted in affected areas in a period of a week; work suspensions were also placed. Two people were declared missing on July 20, with the deaths increasing in the following days. The final death toll stood at 30. Massive flooding affected roads, especially the North Luzon Expressway. Millions of people were affected, with thousands of homes being damaged. A state of calamity was declared in numerous cities, namely San Miguel, Manila, and Malabon, along with one province: Cavite. Foundations initiated charities and donation drives, including the GMA Kapuso Foundation, Caritas Philippines, and Angat Buhay.
Background
The Southwest monsoon, locally called habagat, regularly forms during the summer from May until October; it is a wind system typically characterized by warm and humid winds blowing from the southwest. The start of the southwest monsoon season for the year 2025 was declared on May 30. Weather bureau PAGASA announced that a southwest monsoon was going to affect the island province of Luzon on July 20.Tropical Storm Wipha
A low-pressure area formed inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility on July 15. The next day, PAGASA upgraded the system into a tropical depression and subsequently named it as Crising. At 02:00 PHT on July 18, the system was upgraded into a tropical storm as it was named Wipha by the Japan Meteorological Agency, passing near the Babuyan Islands. The same day, it was upgraded into a tropical storm. When Wipha passed near the Babuyan Islands, it contributed to the flooding caused by the southwest monsoon. Multiple provinces were issued orange rainfall warnings.Typhoon Co-may
A low-pressure area formed northeast of Ilocos Norte on July 23. The same day, it developed into a tropical depression, attaining the name Emong from PAGASA. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center and PAGASA declared the system a tropical storm the same day. The next day, the storm was declared to be a typhoon. It made landfall over Pangasinan the same day. Co-may further exacerbated the southwest monsoon and continued to bring heavy rainfall to the island of Luzon, especially the western sections.Preparations
The issuance of the first weather advisory of PAGASA was declared on July 15, with Antique and Negros Occidental placed in the orange rainfall alert predicting of rainfall. The next day, Palawan and Occidental Mindoro were placed in orange rainfall. No changes were recorded in the following day while alerts ramped up for Wipha. Two more provinces, namely Iloilo and Guimaras, were placed in orange rainfall on July 18. The next day, four provinces, namely Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, and Pampanga were placed in orange rainfall while Iloilo and Guimaras were removed from the list. The provinces of Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Cavite, and Occidental Mindoro were declared to have orange rainfall in its 5 a.m. advisory on July 20.There were multiple class suspensions on July 21, including many in Metro Manila, some parts of six provinces in northern Luzon, and all classes in Bataan. The region of Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Batangas, and Rizal were included in the orange rainfall alert on July 22. Two provinces, namely Bataan and Occidental Mindoro, were upgraded to red rainfall on July 24, with rainfall stronger than included in the alert. The province of Laguna was included in the orange rainfall alert. By July 25, only Occidental Mindoro had red rainfall, with six provinces still remaining in the orange rainfall alerts. A few hours later, all provinces were removed from the red rainfall alert. All provinces were eventually removed from the orange rainfall alerts, with only six remaining in yellow rainfall. The next day, three more provinces were added to the yellow rainfall alert. The next day, Benguet was placed back in the orange rainfall alert. Benguet was eventually removed, and seven provinces remained in the yellow rainfall alert on July 29. The next day, Batanes and Ilocos Norte was left in yellow rainfall.
On July 22, the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla alerted local politicians of high-risk areas and areas that have been warned to initiate local evacuation. He also commanded the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection to assist the evacuation efforts. Over 1,000 residents of Parañaque from 889 families have been evacuated to 13 evacuation centers. Classes and work were suspended in 36 provinces on July 23.