Over the past few days, tropical storm Ketsana (known as Ondoy in the Philippines) has devastated the northern Philippines, with Metro Manila taking the brunt of the storm. Manila took in 12 hours the amount of rain it usually gets during the entire month of September, more than the amount of rain that fell in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina’s height, overwhelming drains, and stranding thousands of people on roofs of houses and tops of buses. While an official body count has been at around 100 all over the Philippines, the exact number might not be known due to the millions of people who live in slums around Manila.
If you want to donate to the ongoing relief work caused by the storm, check out this blog post by the Age of Brillig, which lists ways to donate directly to the Philippine Red Cross.