Earlier this week, relentless monsoon rains and Tropical Storm Trami wreaked havoc in the Philippines, causing at least ten deaths and severely flooding wide swaths of the capital Manila. Flood-battered residents from coastal areas and mountainous regions appealed for help, after days of some of the Philippines' heaviest rains on record. The floods began receding yesterday, even as authorities evacuated thousands of residents along Manila's overflowing rivers and braced for more chaos in outlying provinces. Trami is now bearing down on heavily populated northern Taiwan, prompting schools and offices to close.