Torrential rains raise Laguna de Bay level to ‘critical’

STA ROSA CITY, Philippines – Torrential rains over the weekend raised the water level of Laguna de Bay to 12.80 meters on Monday or “one foot above” its normal level, according to the Laguna Lake Development Authority.

LLDA resident hydrologist Emil Hernandez said the lake agency is now keeping a close watch on the lake’s water level, which is now considered “critical.”

“Communities around the lake are now experiencing flooding due to the swollen Laguna de Bay,” Hernandez said in a phone interview Monday morning.

The normal lake water level is at 12.50 meters above sea level. It also breached the critical level during the previous “habagat” (southwest monsoon) during Tropical storm “Maring” (international name: Trami)

Hernandez said the lake’s water level has already receded to 12.40 meters three weeks after Maring but “now it’s rising again.”

Local disaster authorities reported “knee- to waist-deep” floodwaters, particularly in the lakeshore villages of Landayan in San Pedro town, dela Paz and Malaban in Biñan City, and in Butong and Marinig in Cabuyao City—-all in Laguna, since Monday morning.

No evacuation has been enforced yet.