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Sunday, November 1, 2009

Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy)

The Typhoon Ketsana (known in the Phillippines as "Ondoy") made landfall, and according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Ketsana dropped 455 mm (17.9 in) of rain on Metro Manila in a span of 24 hours on Saturday - the most in 42 years. A month's worth of rainfall in a single day washed away homes and flooded large areas, stranding thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere. Ketsana later crossed over to Vietnam and Cambodia, where it is still active. Over 360 people are known to have been killed, and damage estimates are reaching $100 million. Unfortunately, another tropical storm may be headed toward the southern Philippines on Wednesday but is still 1,000 km (600 mi) off the coast. Here is a selection of photographs from the affected areas over the past week.

1. A Filipino boy is carried to safety through floodwaters brought by Tropical Storm Ketsana in the Quezon City suburban of Manila on September 26, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
2. A man looks for pieces of wood amongst the strong waves of a lake to collect along the national north-south highway near Danang as Typhoon Ketsana passes through central Vietnam on September 29, 2009. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
3. A man balances on top of a wall, not seen, as he crosses a swollen creek following floodings brought about by tropical storm Ketsana Saturday Sept. 26, 2009 in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
4. Residents wait for rescuers at a building during flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
5. Residents stand on electric wires to stay on high ground while others wade in neck-deep flood waters caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
6. Children look out from a window of a partially submerged house in floodwaters brought on by Typhoon Ketsana, in San Pedro Laguna, south of Manila September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
7. A tourist wades through a flooded street in the town of Hoi An in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam on September 30, 2009. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
8. A Filipino resident trapped by floods brought by tropical storm Ketsana evacuates to higher ground with his pet dogs in Marikina city, east of the Philippine capital Manila, on September 27, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
9. An aerial picture shows houses destroyed by flooding brought by tropical storm Ketsana in Marikina City, east of the Philippine capital Manila on September 27, 2009. (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
10. A rescue worker carries the body of a child that drowned in flooding brought by tropical storm Ketsana in Marikina city, east of the Philippine capital Manila, on September 27, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
11. A resident looks at a body left lying in the mud by the floodwaters brought on by Typhoon Ketsana in Payatas, Quezon city, Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer)
12. Cambodian villagers carry coffins loaded with bodies of villagers who died during Typhoon Ketsana at Teuk Mileang village, Sandan district, Kampong Thom province, about 250 kilometers (155 miles), north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
13. Danny Velasco, 40, grieves beside the coffin of his wife Rosalia, and two young children who were killed during deadly flash floods in Manila over the weekend, in Manila on September 28, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
14. Residents swim towards high ground during flooding caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
15. A Vietnamese villager and his daughter paddle an innertube with spades at Dien Nam commune, in the central province of Quang Nam, following heavy rain brought by typhoon Ketsana caused flooding on September 30, 2009. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
16. Motorists drive by vehicles lined up along a road after flash floods caused by Typhoon Ketsana hit Provident Village in Marikina City, Metro Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/John Javellana)
17. A Philippine Airforce aerial shot shows residents standing on a rooftop to escape the floodwaters caused by continuous rains brought on by Typhoon Ketsana in Marikina city, metro Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Rey Bruna/Philippines Airforce/Handout)
18. Residents wade in floodwaters caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Cainta Rizal east of Manila September 27, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
19. A man takes a break from cleaning a house swamped by flash floods brought on by Typhoon Ketsana, in a middle class residential neighbourhood in Marikina city east of Manila September 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
20. The Han River floods over Bach Dang Street in Danang, Vietnam, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 as Typhoon Ketsana heads wesward to Vietnam after hitting Philippines. (AP Photo/Vietnam News Agency, Van Son)
21. Workers trying to recover valuables rush out of a building that is on the verge of collapsing after suffering damage from the floods brought on by the continuous rains of Typhoon Ketsana, in the town of Tanay Rizal east of Manila September 28, 2009. (REUTERS/John Javellana)
22. A mother carries her children inside a public school used as an evacuation center for victims of the floods caused by the continuous rains of Typhoon Ketsana, in the town of Tanay, Rizal east of Manila September 28, 2009. (REUTERS/John Javellana)
23. Residents lead their pig through floodwaters brought on by Typhoon Ketsana, in Binan Laguna south of Manila September 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
24. A man lays out blankets and clothing to dry on a rooftop in the town of Angono just east of Manila on September 29, 2009 still covered with floodwaters three days after tropical storm Ketsana hit the country. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
25. A Vietnamese villager fishes with a net outside his flooded home at Dien Nam commune, in the central province of Quang Nam, following heavy rain brought by typhoon Ketsana on September 30, 2009. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
26. Flooding victims scamper for relief supplies being airdropped by air force helicopter crewmen at San Mateo township, Rizal province, east of Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Philippine Air Force, Rogel Vidallo)
27. This aerial photograph shows the town of Angono just east of Manila on September 29, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
28. Residents waiting for relief goods, form a line after walking through knee-deep mud caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Montalban Rizal, west of Manila September 29, 2009. (REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco)
29. A young girl peers out from the safety of her second floor home in eastern Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
30. A mother and her child cross floodwaters brought on by Typhoon Ketsana, in San Pedro Laguna, south of Manila September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro (PHILIPPINES ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)
31. Workers clean a river full of debris from destroyed houses, caused by typhoon Ketsana in Manila on September 30, 2009. (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
32. Residents at their home try to clean up mud in the aftermath of flooding sparked by tropical storm Ketsana in Marikina, an eastern suburb of the Philippine capital Manila on September 28, 2009. (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
33. Residents transport a vehicle on a makeshift raft through floodwaters brought by Typhoon Ketsana, in San Pedro Laguna, south of Manila September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Erik de Castro)
34. Volunteers pack relief goods into smaller bags at a school in Manila on September 30, 2009 for distribution to survivors of the deadly Philippine floods. The international community rallied to Manila's appeal for help to avert a humanitarian crisis following the weekend storm that forced 375,000 people into evacuation camps. (JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)
35. Filipinos duck under the edge of a barge that was swept ashore by flooding brought by tropical storm Ketsana in Marikina, an eastern suburb of Manila on September 30, 2009. (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
36. An aerial view of a flooded area caused by Typhoon Ketsana is seen from an airplane in Vietnam's central city of Danang September 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Kham)