Heavy monsoon rains occur every year in the Philippines, but in August 2025, the equivalent of five days of rain fell in just one hour. Visibility vanished. Digitally connected smart city technology was the only way the Quezon City operations centre could tell what was going on as everyone sheltered indoors or under bridges.  

 

In this episode of the Urban Exchange podcast our hosts meet Bianca Perez, Head of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office for Quezon City in the Philippines who tells us what went on.  The episode reveals a big disconnect between the national and local governments around drainage and water management.