2012 Luzon southwest monsoon floods

[1][2] On July 26, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that a tropical depression had developed within an area of strong vertical wind shear in the monsoon trough about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) southeast of Manila.

[3][4] Although the shear temporarily relaxed, it increased the following day and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert for the system.

[8] On July 30 the JTWC upgraded Gener to a Category 1 typhoon (since it began developing an eye-like feature), but downgraded it to a tropical storm later that day.

It pulled southwest-monsoon winds from the South China Sea and damaged the City of Manila, causing a storm surge and striking the fish ports of Navotas and Malabon.

It broke a large part of the sea wall on Roxas Boulevard, and caused tons of refuse be washed onto the Baywalk.

Initial reports indicated about a dozen confirmed casualties, but early on August 3, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) revised the death toll to 37 with at least 519,000 people affected.

[14] As a result, widespread heavy rains impacted regions recovering from deadly floods triggered by Typhoon Saola less than a week earlier.

During a 72-hour period (August 6–8), 1,007 mm (39.6 in) of rain fell in parts of Metro Manila (leading local media to compare the event to Typhoon Ketsana in 2009, which killed 464 people in the city).

As a result of La Mesa Reservoir overflowing,[16] the Tullahan flooded North and West Fairview and the Santa Lucia District.

Most of the water flowed along Quirino Highway to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and A. Bonifacio Street, and the Freeway was closed to traffic that afternoon.

The creek under the median rose, and by noon flooding nearly reached two-story buildings and businesses along the Avenue and the nearby roads (particularly Gumamela Street and Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Boulevard).

[18] President Benigno Aquino III ordered officials to maximize efforts to rescue and aid affected residents.

[23] Communications were heavily affected, as distress calls and text messages from thousands of Metro Manila residents and their families flooded television and radio stations, since most power and water services were interrupted.