On 6 August a large part of the Philippines was hit with approximately half a month’s worth of rain inside a period of 24 hours causing severe flooding.  The capital city, Manila was among the many regions affected.

The death toll as of this writing has reached 60.  But what is amazing about this catastrophe beyond its scale is the resilience of the Filipino spirit, as illustrated in these surreal photos and videos.

Watching these images the first thing that surprises is the amount of smiling faces you can see.

A few people also have creative ways to ease the tension of a major disaster.

And a few pictures that set of the ol’photoshop alarm.  The first one is clearly a shop job due to its lack of logic (The computers are underwater for crying out loud!), and the incredibly high reflectivity of the murky brown water.  The other two I’m on the fence about.

Finally this video shot in Manila really gives you a great sense of the atmosphere during the floods.  Again, notice how most of the people smile and wave at the camera, while trapped on rooftops or wading through neck-deep filthy water.

So as this flood recedes the people start to clean and rebuild despite the threat of an impending typhoon in the coming week.  RocketNews24 would like to send well wishes to the Filipino people and hope they continue to keep their spirits high during these tough times.

In closing we’ll leave you with this picture of a cute pig in wellies.

Source: Itai News (Japanese)