RIVER OF DESPAIR Residents wade through floodwaters while boats queue up to ferry others at Calumpit township, Bulacan province, Oct. 3, 2011. Typhoon Nesat, known locally as Pedring, had caused massive flooding in the flat-plained farming province, leading to at least 14 deaths; Pedring caused at least 60 deaths nationwide. (Photo: Bullit Marquez / AP via MSNBC.com)