Severe Tropical Storm Kristine drowned much of Bicol in October 2024, with Naga seeing months of rain in a day. What happened, and why low, near-river land took the water.
In October 2024, Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami) brought what reporting called the worst flooding in the Bicol region since 1969.
Kristine made landfall in Divilacan, Isabela on October 23, 2024, but its heaviest blow was the rain it dropped on Bicol. In Naga City, officials reported around 700 mm of rain, roughly two and a half months of normal rainfall, in a single span. The Bicol River basin overflowed. By news accounts, floodwaters reached up to about 1.8 meters in places, around 30 percent of Naga's territory flooded, and roughly 70 percent of its population was affected. The death toll across the storm rose to around 145, with more than two million people affected.
Bicol's geography makes it especially exposed. The Bicol River basin is a broad, low, flat plain that drains a large area, so when extreme rain falls upstream, the water has to pass through, and the low-lying towns along the way take it. Naga sits in that basin.
This is the same pattern as Metro Manila, just a different river: low elevation plus proximity to a major waterway equals flood exposure. The waterway proximity brief explains why distance to a river or creek matters, and the flood layer brief covers the mapped flood zones.
Kristine is a reminder that you do not need to be on the coast to face deadly water. River-basin flooding inland can be just as dangerous, and it follows terrain you can check in advance. Before buying anywhere near a river plain, it is worth knowing how low the lot sits and how close the nearest channel is.
CheckHazard does not replace a professional geotechnical or engineering survey. This recounts public reporting; exact figures vary by source.