Planning the development of a city with rivers that flood requires an initial study on how the floods affect the residents. Among the city's residents, the poor are often the most affected. In 2008 the World Bank estimated that the Philippines loses 15 billion pesos (US$333 million) a year to floods, monsoons, and typhoons, which is about 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). In September and October 2009, typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) hit Manila and the northern Philippines in quick succession, causing 3.8 billion pesos in damages and 24.8 billion pesos in immediate losses to agriculture, fisheries, and forestry, or about 2.7 per cent of the GDP. They seriously affected 9.3 million people and resulted in a loss of almost 1,000 lives (World Bank 2009). Such figures are impressive, but the harm done to the poor is often underestimated.

Starting in the early morning of 26 September 2009, Ondoy brought 450 mm (18 inches) of rainfall in a span of twelve hours (almost equivalent to the average monthly rainfall of Manila). There was deep flooding and damage all over the metropolis. Many poor communities were under water for several days; some for two or three months. A few days later, Pepeng brought heavy winds and rains, with a cumulative rainfall exceeding 1,000 mm (39 inches) in some areas. The damages brought about by Ondoy and Pepeng needed about US$4.42 billion for rehabilitation and recovery in the ensuing three years. Ondoy and Pepeng made it clear that every household, community, city, and country must have a plan in place for coping with future disasters (World Bank 2009).

In this essay, I describe the socio­economic conditions of the people who live along the major rivers in the flood plains of Metro Manila. The description is based on a survey of 300 urban poor households I conducted between February 2008 and May 2009 in fourteen communities situated by the river side in the Metro Manila flood basin.