State of calamity up in flooded areas

MONSOON rains bring floods to many parts of Pangasinan province, like this street in Calasiao town which had turned into a river. WILIE LOMIBAO/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Due to extensive flooding, local governments in this city and the Pampanga towns of Sto. Tomas and Guagua declared a state of calamity in their communities on Wednesday.

In Pangasinan, Dagupan City, which was ravaged by monsoon-triggered floods, had been placed under a state of calamity after almost all of its 31 villages had been submerged in floods since Sunday.

As many as 31,323 families were displaced or suffered the effects of the floods, which had been aggravated by the high tide, according to the city disaster risk reduction and management office.

Pampanga Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda said the calamity state declaration would enable the local governments to access funds for repairs of infrastructure and for relief goods.

The death toll related to heavy monsoon rains in Central Luzon has risen to four, three of them from drowning. The fatalities were Rufino Lozada, 74, of San Ildefonso, Bulacan; Ferdinand Zalamea, 43, of Morong, and Rubic Vacalares, 19, of Mariveles, both in Bataan; and Orlando Rañetes, 32 of Lubao, Pampanga, according to the Central Luzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC).

Seven people were injured, six of them from a landslide in Olongapo City.

Two people from Bulacan were missing on Thursday after they were  swept by strong river current.

On Thursday, 201 villages in the region remained flooded—four in Bataan, five in Bulacan and 192 in Pampanga.

The RDRRMC said 176,570 families (796,436 people) were affected in 510 villages in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales provinces.

In Dagupan, floodwaters came from the swollen Sinocalan River.

The provincial disaster risk reduction and management office in Lingayen town reported that 61 other villages in six Pangasinan towns remained flooded while 180 families from five towns sought refuge in evacuation centers.

At 6 a.m. on Thursday, the Binga Dam in Benguet province was releasing water to the Agno River as its reservoir level was 573.39 meters above sea level (masl), which was close to its spilling level of 575 masl.

In Isabela province, the monsoon rain was not enough to fill up the Magat Dam in Ramon town. The rain increased the elevation of its reservoir but it was not enough to breach its critical level.

The normal level is 190 masl. But on Thursday morning, the level was 167.55 masl. Reports from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Gabriel Cardinoza and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon