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 Typhoon Co-may, causing significant damage over the northern portion of the nation. A Southwest monsoon season regularly forms during the latter part of the year. Because the season was called in May by PAGASA, monsoon rains could happen in the country. Two storms, Wipha and Co-may, enhanced the monsoon season, causing massive flooding. 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 multiple cities, namely San Miguel, Manila, and Malabon. One province also declared a state of calamity, being Cavite. Foundations started charities and donation drives, including the GMA Kapuso Foundation, Caritas Philippines, and Angat Buhay.
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.[1] The start of the southwest monsoon season for the year 2025 was declared on May 30.[2] Weather bureau PAGASA announced that southwest monsoon which was going to affect the island province of Luzon on July 20.[3]
A low-pressure area formed inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility on July 15.[4] The next day, PAGASA upgraded the system into a tropical depression and subsequently naming it as Crising.[5] At 02:00 PHT (18:00 UTC) on July 18, the storm was upgraded into a tropical storm, named Wipha by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), passing near the Babuyan Islands.[6] The same day, it was upgraded into a tropical storm.[7] When Wipha passed near the Babuyan Islands, it contributed to the flooding caused by the southwest monsoon. Multiple provinces were issued orange rainfall warnings.[8]
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 (JTWC) and PAGASA declared the system a tropical storm the same day.[9] The next day, the storm was declared to be a typhoon.[10] It made landfall over Pangasinan the same day.[11] Co-may further exacerbated the southwest monsoon, continued to bring heavy rainfall to the island of Luzon, especially the western sections.[12]
Rainfall alerts
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 with 100 to 200 millimetres (3.9 to 7.9 inches) of rainfall.[13] The next day, Palawan and Occidental Mindoro were placed in orange rainfall.[14] No changes were recorded in the following day while alerts ramped up for Wipha.[15] Two more provinces, namely Iloilo and Guimaras, were placed in orange rainfall on July 18.[16] 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.[17] 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.[3]
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.[18] The region of Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Batangas, and Rizal were included in the orange rainfall alert on July 22.[19] Two provinces, namely Bataan and Occidental Mindoro, were upgraded to red rainfall on July 24, with rainfall stronger than 200mm (7.9in) included in the alert. The province of Laguna was included in the orange rainfall alert.[20] By July 25, only Occidental Mindoro had red rainfall, with six provinces still remaining in the orange rainfall alerts.[21] A few hours later, all provinces were removed from the red rainfall alert.[22] All provinces were eventually removed from the orange rainfall alerts, with only six remaining in yellow rainfall.[23] The next day, three more provinces were added to the yellow rainfall alert.[24] The next day, Benguet was placed back in the orange rainfall alert.[25] Benguet was eventually removed, and seven provinces remained in the yellow rainfall alert on July 29.[26] The next day, Batanes and Ilocos Norte was left in yellow rainfall.[27]
Food supplies distributed by Akbayan supporters and Representative Chel Diokno during the effects of Wipha and the monsoon.
Impact
By July 20, two people were reportedly missing while thousands evacuated from their homes.[3] Two days later, six deaths were reported from the massive flooding; millions of individuals were also affected.[31] The final reported toll for the floods were 30 deaths, with 10 injuries and seven missing.[32] Multiple provinces in the regions of Cagayan Valley, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Bicol Region, and Western Visayas were required to keep basic needs, like health and response duties operational for the floods.[33] An overflowing river stranded motorists in Las Piñas. Overflowing rivers blocked roads in Las Pinas. In the North Luzon Expressway, drivers were stranded for hours as pumping stations couldn't control the floods. Overflowing rivers caused floods in multiple parts of Pangasinan. In Calasiao, residents used makeshift rafts to travel across the municipality. 1,700 houses in Mangaldan and an elementary school were affected by flooding.[34] All of the 23 barangays in Kawit were all flooded, with a river in one barangay overflowing.[35]
Response and legacy
A special session led by government officials from Quezon City and Manila declared a state of calamity for the two governments on July 22.[36] The same day, the local government of Malabon declared a state of calamity because of destruction of infrastructure and evacuation.[37] The same day, the provincial government of Cavite declared a state of calamity.[35] Multiple organizations organized relief operations for the floods. The GMA Kapuso Foundation started accepting donations. The Angat Buhay organization is currently organizing relief operations in Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Pasig, Marikina, and Taytay, Rizal. The Caritas Manila organization launched a donation drive for the effects of the flooding. Cultural organization SIKAD ran monetary donations.[38] The floods, according to a website, exposed corruption in the Philippines. The website stated that supposed flood control projects did not work due to corruption because of the lack of a centralized plan. The website also stated that the floods should be a "wake-up-call" for the administration of President Bongbong Marcos to fix the broken flood control projects.[39]
↑ Weather Advisory No. 7(PDF) (Report). Manila, Philippines: PAGASA. July 17, 2025. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2025-05-17. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
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