It’s an all-too-familiar scene across Metro Manila. Heavy rain falls for hours—or sometimes just 30 minutes—and suddenly, water rises fast. Before you know it, families are lifting appliances, moving children to dry spots, and praying the flood doesn’t climb any higher. By the time the water recedes, it leaves behind a mess that smells like the river and sticks like bad memories.
For those living in older barangays in Manila, Quezon City, Pasig, Caloocan, or even low-lying parts of Makati and Mandaluyong, flood season is an annual battle. So let’s talk strategy: how to clean up after the flood, and how to better protect your home before the next one hits.
Post-Flood Clean-Up: Step by Step
Safety First
Before anything else, turn off the electricity at the main breaker, especially if water entered electrical outlets or appliances. Don’t turn it back on until an electrician gives the okay.
Wear Protective Gear
Floodwaters in Metro Manila aren’t just rain—they’re a cocktail of sewage, garbage, and who-knows-what. Use gloves, boots, and a mask if possible. Even tsinelas aren’t enough. Protect your skin.
Clear the Mud, Fast
Use buckets, dustpans, and brooms to remove mud while it’s still wet. Once it dries, it’s harder to clean and becomes a health hazard (bacteria, mold, and more).
Disinfect Like Your Life Depends on It
Mix 1 cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water and use it to mop floors, wipe surfaces, and soak items that touched floodwater. Pay special attention to kitchen counters and bathrooms. Anything absorbent—mattresses, stuffed toys, pillows—may need to be thrown out.
Dry Everything
Open windows, turn on fans, use electric dryers if possible. Mold can begin to grow within 24 hours, and that stuff isn’t just smelly—it can trigger asthma, allergies, and infections.
Watch for Illness
After a flood, leptospirosis is a real danger. If someone has a fever, body pain, or red eyes after walking through floodwaters, go to the clinic right away.
Long-Term Solutions: How to Defend Your Home
We can’t stop the rain. We may not be able to stop the floods entirely. But Filipinos are nothing if not madiskarte. Here’s how to fight smarter, not harder:
Raise What You Can
Place furniture and appliances on hollow blocks or wooden platforms.
Store valuables in sealed plastic bins on upper shelves.
Mount your electrical outlets higher on the wall if renovating.
Install a Flood Barrier
Portable flood gates or DIY “trapal” barriers can keep shallow water out during light floods. Sandbags work in a pinch, but plastic water-filled barriers (like those used in Korea) are even better if you can access them.
Seal the House’s Weak Spots
Use waterproof sealant around doors, windows, and floor cracks. Install one-way valves in drainage pipes to prevent water from backing up into your toilet or sink.
Elevate or Relocate the Septic Tank
A frequent source of post-flood smell and contamination is an overfilled or overflowing septic tank. If feasible, have it inspected and maintained regularly—or elevated if the barangay supports that effort.
Community-Level Advocacy
Join forces with neighbors. Many barangays suffer from clogged esteros, illegal dump sites, or blocked drainage. Demand regular cleanups. Work with city engineers. Start a barangay disaster response team if one doesn’t exist yet.
Create a “Go Box”
Keep an emergency bag with ID photocopies, money, medicine, dry clothes, flashlight, and phone charger—somewhere you can grab it fast when the flood hits.
Flooding is more than just an inconvenience—it’s a cycle of danger, disease, and damage that repeats every year. But it doesn’t have to be hopeless. Every step—no matter how small—toward prevention and smart cleanup adds up.
Filipinos are some of the most resilient people on the planet. No other culture meets disaster with tsinelas, a mop, and a smile. But that doesn’t mean they should settle for cleaning up the same mess year after year. It’s time for smarter homes, better drainage, and stronger communities.
Let’s keep our feet dry next time. Or at least our TV cords.
