The wet season in the Manila area, caused by the southwest monsoon, lasts from June to November. The Philippines lies astride the typhoon belt. An average of 15 cyclones affect the Philippines every year. Many produce only heavy rainfall, but 5 or 6 may strike with destructive winds and torrential rains. The typhoon season, during which most of these storms occur, is between July and October.
Active volcanoes exist, and the islands are subject to destructive earthquakes.
The majority of Philippine people are of Malay stock, descendants of Indonesians and Malays who migrated to the islands long before the Christian era. The most significant ethnic minority group is the Chinese, who have played an important role in commerce since the ninth century, when they first came to the islands to trade. As a result of intermarriage, many Filipinos have some Chinese and Spanish ancestry. Americans and Spaniards constitute the next largest alien minorities in the country. Manila, the capital and largest city, has a metropolitan population of about 7.5 million.