Philippines town gives taxis a lift as floods become norm

HAGONOY: In a town in northern Philippines where floods have become a perennial problem, motorcycle taxi drivers have modified their vehicles to keep passengers dry and high above the floodwaters.

Motorcycle taxis, a popular form of transport in rural Philippines, have had steel tubes added to the forks of the vehicles, boosting them by a few extra feet to allow them to operate in the worst kinds of floods.

Some streets in Hagonoy just outside the capital Manila have been impassable in recent years, with rain levels reaching as high as two metres (6.5 feet) in monsoon season, when residents either wade through thigh-deep water or travel in small boats.

One of the town's problems, according to officials, is the rapid rise in informal dwellings along a nearby river and lack of adequate waste management solutions.