Bustos Dam in Bulacan starts releasing water; classes suspended in Central Luzon

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines—Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado ordered the preemptive evacuation of 45 families, or 156 people, living in the coastal village of Salambao in Obando town, in anticipation of heavy rains to be dumped by tropical storm “Ruby” at 10 p.m. on Monday.

The families were relocated to the Obando National High School on Sunday.

The Bulacan provincial government canceled classes in all levels on Monday, but required all government employees to report for work.

In Pampanga province, AirAsia Berhad canceled its flight AK982 from Kuala Lumpur to the Clark International Airport (CRK) on Monday due to the tropical storm, an official said.

Lawyer Emigdio Tanjuatco III, Clark International Airport Corp. president, said AirAsia Zest evacuated to CRK at least four airplanes with tail numbers RPC8992, RPC8993, RPC8996 and RPC88972. These planes, all without passengers, arrived at CRK at 12:30 p.m. on Monday and were set to fly out at 6:40 p.m.

The Pampanga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRMMC) said classes in public and private schools were suspended in the towns of San Simon, Lubao, Minalin, Guagua, Mexico, Candaba, Floridablanca, Sta. Ana, Sto. Tomas, Sasmuan and the cities of San Fernando and Mabalacat.

The PDRRMC in Bataan reported the suspension of classes in all levels.

In Nueva Ecija province, Cabanatuan City Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara suspended classes in preschool and elementary on Monday. Officials have also started round-the-clock monitoring of the Angat, Ipo and Bustos Dams in Bulacan and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.

Water level in Angat Dam reached 207.68 meters above sea level (masl); 99.58 masl at Ipo Dam; 16. 41 masl at Bustos Dam; 204.4 masl at Pantabangan Dam. The Bulacan dams were all near their spilling levels, as of Monday.

As of 4 a.m. on Monday, the National Power Corp. said no dam had released water.

The Bustos Dam, however, discharged excess water at 20 cubic meters per second beginning Friday to ease pressure on the reservoir and its aging equipment, when its water elevation reached 16.45 masl. Bustos’s spilling level is 17.7 masl.

A government flood bulletin released on Monday said tropical storm Ruby, upon hitting Metro Manila and Central Luzon, would bring rains over the Pampanga River Basin and its waterways (among them Bulu Dam and Madlum River, both in San Miguel town, and the Angat River).—Reports from Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Tonette Orejas and Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon