Scenes from Marikina in Ondoy’s wake

When Tropical Storm Ondoy roared through the country Saturday, no one could have imagined the devastation it would leave behind. After all, meteorologists only raised public storm signal 1, the lowest storm signal, over Metro Manila. As of September 28, the death toll has already risen to more than a hundred, with half a million people homeless or displaced, according to ABS-CBN television. Marikina City was one of the hardest hit, as documented by PCIJ researcher Aura Dagcutan.