Flood-hit Camarines Sur under calamity state 

CANAL CLEARING A farmer in Magarao, Camarines Sur province, clears assorted debris along irrigation canals after Tropical Storm “Enteng” (international name: Yagi) hit parts of Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions on Sunday. The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Bicol has started cleanup activities to prevent clogging and ensure water flow in its canals. —PHOTO COURTESY OF NIA REGION V

GUINOBATAN, ALBAY—The provincial board of Camarines Sur placed the province under a state of calamity on Wednesday as it started to recover from the widespread flooding triggered by heavy rains dumped by Tropical Storm “Enteng” (international name: Yagi) when it hit Bicol region on Sunday.

In a post on social media, Gov. Luigi Villafuerte described Enteng’s effect as “overwhelming” for the province.

According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol, the storm affected 870,898 residents in the province.

As of Wednesday noon, 80 villages in 11 towns in Camarines Sur were still affected by flooding. Some 205 villages in 29 towns experienced floods but water had receded, according to the OCD.

With the state of calamity declaration, Camarines Sur can use its emergency response funds and freeze the prices of goods while its social security institutions can extend emergency loans to public and private employees.

On Monday, the city council of Naga, also in Camarines Sur, approved a resolution to place the city under a state of calamity after Enteng caused flooding in at least 18 of its 27 villages and left three residents dead.

In Camarines Norte, a fisherman from Jose Panganiban town, who was earlier reported missing, was found dead in Vinzons town on Tuesday while the search for 14 others continues, the OCD Bicol said in a report on Wednesday.

In Bulacan, intermittent moderate to heavy rains, along with continued water releases from Bustos and Ipo dams, triggered flooding in at least nine towns and a city in the province, bringing the number of evacuees to over 13,000, according to a report from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office on Thursday.

Among the hardest-hit areas were the towns of Balagtas, Bocaue, Bulakan, Calumpit, Hagonoy, Marilao, Paombong, San Ildefonso and Pandi, and the City of Meycauayan, where floodwaters rose to as high as 1.82 meters (6 feet).

As of 11 a.m. on Thursday, Angat Dam’s water level rose to 191.65 meters above sea level (masl), still 18.35 meters below its 210-masl flood season high water mark.

In Zambales, agricultural damage caused by the southwest monsoon and Enteng has exceeded P9 million as of Thursday. —WITH REPORTS FROM CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE AND JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT