MANILA, Philippines - Cloud seeding operations conducted by the Department of Agriculture brought heavy rain to Zamboanga City before noon Sunday.

The DA said it conducted a cloud seeding operations a little past 11 a.m. Sunday morning after detecting seedable clouds. After a few minutes, there was a heavy downpour in some barangays located within the city’s 7-kilometer radius.

Residents were happy and some even played in the downpour, which lasted for less than an hour.

The Zamboanga City Water District said it is checking if the downpour increased the water level in the city reservoir.

The DA said it hopes the artificial rain will help farmers whose farmlands have been affected by the El Niño phenomenon.