A man wades through a street flooded by heavy rains from Typhoon Toraij in Ilagan City, Isabela, northern Philippines, shot by Noel Celis. Celis was one of the 2 winners in the World Press Photo contest's "Stories" category in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region. Courtesy of the World Press Photo website

MANILA — Filipino photojournalist Noel Celis was among the winners of the 2025 World Press Photo contest for his story "Four Storms, 12 Days" that captured the aftermath of the overlapping typhoons that ravaged the Philippines late last year, the Amsterdam-based organization announced on Thursday.

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This year's World Press Photo contest recognized winners for "Stories" and "Singles" categories across 6 regions: North and Central America; South America; Europe; Africa; West, Central and South Asia; and Asia Pacific and Oceania. 

Celis, who covered the story for the Associated Press, was one of the 2 winners in the "Stories" category in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania region.

"This selection highlights the increasing frequency of natural disasters in Southeast Asia, illustrating how people are becoming increasingly accustomed to such events. The classic edit includes photographs that juxtapose intimate moments with the broader scale of these storms, capturing both their personal impact and the wider consequences at the local and national scale," the jury said on Celis' story.

Graduation and family pictures are laid out to dry on a flood-damaged sofa, after continuous rains during Tropical Storm Trami. Naga City, Camarines Sur, northern Philippines. Noel Celis, from the World Press Photo website

"The combination of day- and night-time shots emphasize the relentless nature of these extreme weather events, maintaining a consistent aesthetic throughout."

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The other winner in the "Stories" category in the Asia Pacific region was Myanmar's Ye Aung Thu for his story "A Nation in Conflict."

This year's edition of the World Press Photo contest awarded 42 winners, selected by an independent jury out of 59,320 entries by 3,778 photographers from 141 countries.

In 2017, Celis was also cited for his story "The Philippines' Most Overcrowded Jail," which bagged the third prize for the General News category.

Filipino photojournalist gets nod from World Press Photo

Another Filipino photojournalist, Ezra Acayan, also bagged an award from the organization in 2019 for his drug war photo.

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