After a week of continuous heavy downpour which flooded Metro Manila and nearby provinces, the sun finally shone on the Philippines on Thursday.

With the sun out and rains halted, flood water began to recede in the national capital region (NCR) and other provinces in the island of Luzon as the nation starts to recover from the catastrophe that killed 49 Filipinos, paralysed the capital and damaged millions worth of property and agricultural crops.

From rescuing hundreds of residents in low-lying areas on rooftops, the focus shifts now to sending back the evacuees temporarily housed in public schools, gymanasia and churches to their homes, rebuilding damaged houses, cleaning the mud and debris left by the flood and repairing damaged streets, bridges, power lines and other public infrastructure.

In spite of efforts of the government to provide help to flood victims, various groups criticised the efforts of the Aquino-led government for its inadequate response.

To help the Philippines recover from the nightmare, international efforts are underway. Australia donated $2 million to Manila, of which $1 million would be coursed through the World Food Programme to deliver one thousand tonnes of rice and the other $1 million through the Red Cross for supplies needed by the evacuees.

The sheer number of evacuees, estimated at almost 300,000 families, overwhelmed the Department of Social Welfare and Development which sought help from volunteers to help the agency pack, deliver and distribute the relief goods to different parts of Luzon island.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman also sought more donations for medicine, blankets, mats and dry clothes.

The downpour, estimated at 300 millimetres or thrice the daily average of rainfall, placed a question on flood control initiatives put in place by the current and past administrations for failing to solve the decades-old problem of inundation during the rainy season.

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