Prepare
Family preparedness guides
Eight practical guides for households in flood-prone parts of Metro Manila. Start with the plan, then the bag.
Preparedness is not about expecting the worst; it is about being calm when the warning comes. The guides below follow the order most families find useful: understand the warnings, write a plan, pack a bag, protect what cannot be replaced, think about the people who need extra help, know how to evacuate and how to come home safely, and build connections with your neighbours. Each guide takes ten minutes to read and an evening to act on.
Write a family flood plan in one evening
A plan only works if everyone in the house knows it. Here is a format that fits on one sheet of paper.
Go-bag checklist for a flood
One bag per household, packed before June, light enough to carry through knee-deep water.
Evacuation basics
When to leave, how to move through water safely, and what to expect at an evacuation centre.
Reading rainfall and river warnings
Storm signals tell you about wind. Floods come from rain and rivers. Learn to read all three.
After the flood: safe cleanup and health
More injuries and illnesses happen after floodwater recedes than many people expect. Go back in carefully.
Protecting documents and valuables
Titles, certificates, school records and photographs were among the hardest things to replace after 2009.
Elders, children, people with disabilities and pets
The people and animals who depend on others need their own line in every family plan.
Community resilience starts on your street
In 2009, neighbours rescued neighbours. Turning that instinct into a plan is the most powerful preparedness step of all.
When you have done the basics, record it in the household pledge. It stays in your browser and is only a promise to yourselves.