CCTV installed to check Bulacan floods

RESIDENTS of Calumpit town in Bulacan province wade through a flooded street after rains dumped by Typhoon “Pedring” in 2011 submerged a wide section of Central Luzon region. FILE PHOTO

CITY OF MALOLOS—The government is installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in 11 towns in Bulacan province, part of the mechanism to monitor river flow and flooding, now that Angat Dam is being upgraded.

The P92-million project will equip 32 key rivers, bridges, road intersections and major stoplights in the province with CCTV, said Arlene Pascual, head of the provincial planning and development office.

The CCTV system will cover the whole stretch of Angat River, from Norzagaray town where Angat Dam is located, to the towns downstream such as Calumpit, Hagonoy, Sta. Maria and San Miguel, and the City of San Jose del Monte.

During the rainy season, runoff rainwater from the Sierra Madre mountains cascades down to Bulacan towns, causing Sta. Maria River to swell.

The CCTV cameras will be installed at the Angat, Ipo and Bustos dams, all in Bulacan, as well as areas near the Calumpit River, Marilao overpass and the bridge over Sta. Maria River.

Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado said the CCTV system will help in flood monitoring by providing real-time situationers as well as water level status of the dams.

Felicisima Mungcal, head of the Bulacan provincial risk reduction management office (PDRRMO), said the system would improve the way the PDRRMO operations center make decisions in times of crisis.

In Pangasinan province, dredging operations in Sta. Barbara continue to manage and reduce flooding in that town. Mayor Carlito Zaplan said 60 percent of the 12-kilometer waterway from Barangay Tuliao to Minien had been dredged. Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon; with a report from Johanne Margarette Macob, Inquirer Northern Luzon