Floods have always been a part of Crissa Tolentino’s life.
Almost every day, the 36-year-old public school teacher navigates the flooded streets in a paddle canoe. It’s the only way to get from her suburban home to the center of Apalit, a low-lying hamlet close to Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
She travels by boat to her place of employment and the cancer treatment clinic. She claims that only around two months of the year do she see dry streets.
However, she is furious this year.
In the South East Asian country, an exceptionally severe monsoon has caused more disruptions to daily life than ever before, provoking resentment and accusations of corruption in flood management initiatives.