As typhoons become more frequent and intense, Filipinos are getting married in flooded churches

A couple in the Philippines was married in a flooded church amid tropical storm Wipha this week. They're not the first couple to do it — the Philippines is hit by about 20 tropical storms each year and flooding has become a perennial issue.

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Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar saw the decision to persevere in the unusual conditions as a symbol of their commitment to one another.

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Dr Lagmay said construction of properties and roads over natural waterways and flood plains in the capital Manila rendered the city particularly vulnerable to inundation.

But he said the country's disaster risk reduction efforts had made significant strides in recent decades, pointing out that the average number of fatalities from hydrometeorological hazards went down significantly from 1,000-1,250 average deaths a year for the period 1986-2013 to about 250 a year from 2014 to the present.

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