This is a cartoon from PH Free Press that appeared on the issue published on Aug 22nd of 1931 (via a blog post). Since I don't have access to that issue, I can only assume the message of the cartoon: the Free Press was blaming the bureaucrats/military (eg. US Army Corps of Engineers) on the infrastructure deficiencies, that caused the floods. However if you search this sub for historical flooding in the city of Manila, you'd know that Manila had ALWAYS flooded.That month though, on the days Aug. 7-12th, had one of the worst floodings in PH due to nonstop rains caused by 2 depressions (ie low pressure zone, causing strong winds, storms) that formed in region (see below).The year 1931, one of the worst monsoon season in the region which caused a lot of deaths and destruction esp. in China (Wuhan Floods of 1931, http://www.disasterhistory.org/central-china-flood-1931). In one of the articles, it even said that some that it was so bad some US senators were urging the country to sell wheat to China to prevent massive famine.Here's a contemporary article from NYT archives with title that reads: "RAINS FLOOD MANILA.; One Is Drowned and 18 Major Streets Are Inundated." (NYT, Aug. 12, 1931) [https://www.nytimes.com/1931/08/12/archives/rains-flood-manila-one-is-drowned-and-18-major-streets-are.html].
The only newspaper that covered Manila I could get from that time is La Vanguardia, Aug. 13, 1931 (via Eastview GPA) [https://gpa.eastview.com/crl/sean/?a=d&d=lvra19310813-01&e=-------en-25--1--img-txIN----------] which stated:2 Typhoons Lingering. The bad weather in the Philippines is due to two reasons as shown in the engraving: one is due to the typhoon that was stationed for several days in the eastern part of northern Luzon and is now in China on the western side of the South of Hankoy (modern: "Hankou") and the other is vast depression that now exists from the China Sea to the Pacific including the Balintang Channel.
"The Cause of These Rains By Edilberto Parulan*.Two depressions stalks the Philippines in the Pacific and the China Sea.The rains are almost widespread throughout the Archipelago, but with greater noticeability in central Luzon. While the 'baguio' ('bagyo' 'typhoon'), which remained for several days in the northern eastern part of Luzon, and produced a change in the weather in the country, especially in the north and the center, is moving away, as can be seen in the present engraving, the very same baguio is found today in China in the southern western part of Hankow, [another] baguio extended a vast depression from the China Sea to the Pacific, encompassing the Balintang channel.In the engraving published above you can see these two causes of the inclement weather. One is in the China Sea and the other in the Pacific. These pockets of depression are the cause of the bad weather and excessive rains that are now falling in almost the entire country. As long as these weather events (lit. "motivos de temporal" "causes of the storm") stay, the present situation will remain unchanged.Within these two pockets of depression a baguio may form and if this happens, the weather will not improve and the rains will continue causing many districts of Manila to become even more flooded.Apart from what has been described, it can also be seen that in the northern part of Indo-China there is also a baguio and that contributes with the other factors in the existence of low atmospheric pressure throughout the country. The first [storm] signal is hoisted at all stations of the Manila Observatory in the Philippines."
Various articles that suggest multiple disasters: sinking of several boats and certain towns in Tarlac (Concepcion) was "IN GREAT DANGER" after the few roads it had then were engulfed by floods and Meralco facilities destroyed.*The earliest I could find Parulan being part of the Weather Bureau was an old US govt. publication stating that he was hired as an "Assistant Calculator" in Nov 1912. When the Weather Bureau was reestablished after it's destruction in WWII, later called "PAGASA" (acronym means "Hope"), Edilberto Parulan (called in some of the literature afterwards as the "Chief Forecaster") became its head. Parulan was also a very prominent journalist/columnist at the time esp. in many Tagalog language publications, he wrote lots of articles including in the satire and political ones like "Lipang Kalabaw". He seemed to have also been very active in many areas, since one publication says: "...at ang kalihim ng Liga Filipina at bantog na lider ng mga manggawa na si Edilberto Parulan..."I know this is typical of Manila (some years worse than most), so I wish you guys stay dry and warm. Be safe.
