Villagers in 5 provinces suffer from flooding
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Monsoon rains on Saturday brought floods to communities in Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan.
The National Power Corp. released 134.70 cubic meters of water from the Ipo Dam at
9:30 a.m. to maintain the dam’s elevation of 102 meters above sea level, according to the Central Luzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).
Rising floodwaters prompted the evacuation of 66 families (or 291 individuals) in Pio del Mar village in Balanga City, and in Bayan-Bayanan village in Dinalupihan town, both in Bataan province; in Bagbaguin village in Bulacan’s Sta. Maria town; and in Olongapo City’s Sta. Rita village in Zambales, the RDRRMC said.
Four houses were washed out in Daungan village in Hermosa, Bataan.
Strong rains brought floods to 34 villages in Masantol, Guagua, City of San Fernando, Mexico, Minalin, Sto. Tomas, San Simon and Macabebe in Pampanga, a report from the Pampanga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.
In the Pampanga capital of San Fernando, portions of the Manila North Road (formerly MacArthur Highway) and Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly Gapan San Fernando Olongapo Road) suffered knee-high floods.
Concrete drainage canals built by contractors of the Department of Public Works and Highways overflowed.
The Magliman Creek rose, flooding Phase 2 of St. Jude Village.
The Clark International Airport (CRK) in Pampanga was put on alert for local and international flights diverting from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City due to poor visibility.
Nineteen airplanes took refuge at CRK on Friday night, although only four remained parked at the airport by Saturday noon, said lawyer Emigdio Tanjuatco III, president and chief executive officer of the state-owned Clark International Airport Corp.
In Pangasinan, Saturday floods affected ten low-lying villages of this town and neighboring Dagupan City.
The villages of Talibaew, Lasip, Gabon and San Vicente dealt with a foot of water overflowing from the swollen Sinocalan-Marusay River that cuts through Calasiao, said Freddie Villacorta, disaster risk reduction and management officer.
The river’s water level rose to 5.3 feet, breaching its normal level of 5 feet, said Villacorta.
The main road connecting this town to Dagupan was also under water, but it has been passable.
Ronald de Guzman, Dagupan disaster risk reduction and management office (DRRMO) chief, said the city experienced “minimal flooding” due to the rains and a high tide event. On Saturday noon, the city’s villages of Malued, Barangay 1, Poblacion Oeste, Herrero-Perez, Tapuac and Pantal were coping with 3 feet of floodwater.
Avenix Arenas, spokesperson of the provincial DRRMO in Lingayen town, said they are monitoring Pangasinan’s river systems, especially Balincaguin River which traverses several western Pangasinan towns.
In a 9 a.m. advisory on Saturday, the Agno River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center in Rosales town recorded 91.6 millimeters of rainfall in the last two days. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon, and Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
