Orange rainfall warning: what it means
An orange rainfall warning means 15 to 30 mm of rain has fallen in one hour. PAGASA says flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and near rivers. It is the middle of three rainfall levels and it is not a numbered signal.
By Hamza Rivera, updated
Short answer: Orange is the middle of PAGASA's three rainfall warning levels, called Intense Rainfall. It goes up when 15 to 30 mm of rain has fallen in one hour and more is expected. PAGASA's words for it are that flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and near river channels. Yellow is the level below and red the level above.
Yellow, below it, is 7.5 to 15 mm and flooding is possible. Red, above it, is more than 30 mm and severe flooding is expected.
Written for the Philippines. Dilaw, orange at pula ang tatlong antas ng babala sa ulan ng PAGASA.
What an orange rainfall warning means
An orange rainfall warning is PAGASA's middle level, which it calls Intense Rainfall. It goes up when 15 to 30 mm of rain has fallen in one hour and more is expected over the next two. PAGASA's words for it are "Flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and near river channels" and "Community preparedness".
In practice: if you live in a low-lying area, by a river or below a slope, pack the go bag, charge your phone and know which way you would walk out. If the warning turns red, PAGASA expects severe flooding. Leave when your LGU or barangay calls an evacuation. If you end up wading through floodwater, the DOH says to see a doctor or health centre within 24 to 48 hours for preventive medicine, without waiting for symptoms. Symptoms can start 2 to 30 days later. Read leptospirosis after a flood.
Source: PAGASA, Weather Icons, the rainfall warning legend. Read 23 September 2026.
Source: DOH, On guard for leptospirosis as rainy season continues, press release of 7 August 2024. Read 8 October 2026.
Is there a rainfall warning today?
This page has no live data. PAGASA posts its rainfall warnings on the regional forecast page for each area, under the Rainfall Warning tab. When nothing is up, the tab reads "As of today, there is no Heavy Rainfall Warning Issued."
- PAGASA Northern Luzon
- PAGASA National Capital Region
- PAGASA Southern Luzon
- PAGASA Visayas
- PAGASA Mindanao
A typhoon's wind signals are on a different bulletin. The page on where to check typhoon and earthquake updates lists every official live page.
Source: PAGASA, Regional Forecast pages, Rainfall Warning tab. Read 13 October 2026.
What a red rainfall warning means
A red rainfall warning is the highest of PAGASA's three rainfall levels, one above orange. PAGASA calls it Torrential Rainfall. It goes up when more than 30 mm of rain has fallen in one hour, and PAGASA's words for it are "Severe flooding is expected" and "Take necessary precautionary measures".
Leave when your LGU or barangay calls an evacuation. Under DepEd's order a red warning suspends public school classes the same way orange does, as set out below. What to do before, during and after the water rises is on the flood guide.
Source: PAGASA, Weather Icons, the rainfall warning legend. Read 23 September 2026.
What a yellow rainfall warning means
A yellow rainfall warning is the lowest of the three, one below orange. PAGASA calls it Heavy Rainfall. It goes up when 7.5 to 15 mm of rain has fallen in one hour, and PAGASA's words for it are "Flooding is possible in low-lying areas and near river channels" and "Community awareness".
A yellow warning does not suspend public school classes by itself: under DepEd's order the mayor or governor decides. If it turns orange, PAGASA says flooding is threatening, and DepEd's rules for orange, in the next section, take over.
Source: PAGASA, Weather Icons, the rainfall warning legend. Read 23 September 2026.
Source: Department of Education, DepEd Order No. 22, s. 2024: Revised Guidelines on Class and Work Suspension in Schools during Disasters and Emergencies (signed 23 December 2024). Read 12 October 2026.
Is there school during an orange rainfall warning?
Not in public schools. Under DepEd's current order, an orange or red rainfall warning from PAGASA suspends classes and work from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and ALS on its own, with no separate announcement needed. A yellow warning does not: the mayor or governor decides. The rules, in DepEd's words:
| PAGASA warning | What DepEd says happens |
|---|---|
| Orange or red warning before classes start | "Classes and work from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and ALS are automatically suspended in schools." |
| Orange or red warning after classes have begun | "The school head shall immediately suspend classes and work from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and ALS and send everyone home if it is safe to do so. However, schools are obligated to keep the learners and personnel safely in school if traveling has become unsafe." |
| Yellow warning | "The LCE shall decide on the suspension of face to face classes, and work in schools, provided that schools will shift to modular distance learning, performance tasks, projects, or make-up classes based on their LSCP to ensure that learning competencies are met." |
LCE is DepEd's short form for the local chief executive, your mayor or governor. A PAGASA flood warning is handled the same way: a critical water level counts like orange or red, an alarm water level like yellow. The order is DepEd's, for its public schools. For a private school, college or university, check that school's own announcement.
Source: Department of Education, DepEd Order No. 22, s. 2024: Revised Guidelines on Class and Work Suspension in Schools during Disasters and Emergencies (signed 23 December 2024). Read 12 October 2026.
The three levels
| Warning | PAGASA's name | Rain in one hour | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow | Heavy Rainfall | 7.5 to 15 mm | Flooding is possible in low-lying areas and near river channels | Community awareness |
| Orange | Intense Rainfall | 15 to 30 mm | Flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and near river channels | Community preparedness |
| Red | Torrential Rainfall | More than 30 mm | Severe flooding is expected | Take necessary precautionary measures |
The wording in the last two columns is PAGASA's own, from the legend as it reads now.
Source: PAGASA, Weather Icons, the rainfall warning legend. Read 8 October 2026. The hourly millimetre figures are from PAGASA's official statement of 16 January 2019, which classes heavy rain as 7.5 to 15 mm an hour, intense as 15 to 30 mm and torrential as more than 30 mm. The legend names the warning levels Advisory, Alert and Emergency and does not use colour names, so the colours were read from its icons, named alert, warning and critical, which are yellow, orange and red in that order.
Source: PAGASA, Official statement on the heavy rainfall event, 16 January 2019 (heavy 7.5 to 15 mm, intense 15 to 30 mm, torrential over 30 mm an hour). Read 8 October 2026.
A rainfall warning is not a wind signal
Orange is not a signal number. There is no signal one, two or three for rain: yellow, orange and red are the whole of the rainfall scale, and orange is the middle one.
These three are about rain. The numbered signals from 1 to 5 that go up before a typhoon are about wind, they are a different scale issued for a different reason, and one can be raised without the other.
Why this is hard to look up
PAGASA's legend does not contain the words yellow, orange or red. It names the three levels Advisory, Alert and Emergency, and shows a coloured icon beside each one. The icon files are called alert, warning and critical.
So the question almost everybody actually asks, what does an orange rainfall warning mean, is not answered in those words on the page that defines it. That is why the results for it are mostly social media posts and a re-uploaded document. The colours on this page were taken from those three PAGASA icons, which are yellow, orange and red in that order.
There is no green one. The legend has three rainfall levels and green is not among them, which is worth saying because it is asked: PAGASA's flood advisory has five levels and they are named rather than coloured, Monitoring, Alert, Warning, Severe and Final, and its wind signals are numbered.
The three colours and the rain behind each one
PAGASA's own thresholds, measured in one hour and expected to keep falling for the next two. The legend that defines them does not use the words yellow, orange or red anywhere: the colours here were read from the agency's own warning icons.
- Yellow
- Heavy Rainfall. Flooding is possible in low-lying areas and near river channels. Community awareness.
- Orange
- Intense Rainfall. Flooding is threatening in low-lying areas and near river channels. Community preparedness.
- Red
- Torrential Rainfall. Severe flooding is expected. Take necessary precautionary measures.
Source: PAGASA, Weather Icons, the rainfall warning legend. Read 23 September 2026. The hourly millimetre figures are from PAGASA's official statement of 16 January 2019, which classes heavy rain as 7.5 to 15 mm an hour, intense as 15 to 30 mm and torrential as more than 30 mm. The legend names the warning levels Advisory, Alert and Emergency and does not use colour names, so the colours were read from its icons, named alert, warning and critical, which are yellow, orange and red in that order.
What to do when one is up
The action in the table is the short version. What to do before, during and after the flooding itself, including the landslide that the same rain can bring down on a slope above you, is on the flood guide.
Floods and landslides: before, during and after This scale as a card to print The go bag checklist