16 Valenzuela barangays hit by heavy rains placed under state of calamity

A state of calamity has been declared in the 16 barangays that were heavily affected by the heavy rains late September in Valenzuela City, a local public official said.

Ahna Mejia, chief public information officer, said that the move was to facilitate rehabilitation work in the areas after the onslaught of Typhoon “Pedring.”

At the height of the rains, chest-deep floodwaters were reported in barangays Balangkas and Palasan.

The other barangays that were heavily flooded were Dalandanan, Pulo, Pasolo, Coloong, Bisig, Malanday, Tagalag, Isla, Wawang Pulo, Poblacion, Arkong Bato, Rincon, Mabolo and Pariancillo Villa.

The 16 barangays represent 10 percent of the entire city, Mejia said.

Meanwhile, the local government has begun the repair of two dikes that were destroyed by the heavy rains.

The destruction of a part of the Pangkera dike in Coloong, and a part of the Longos Earth Dike in Meycauayan, Bulacan, Mejia said, was partly to be blamed for the slow reduction of water levels in the Polo, Coloong, Bisig and Tagalag areas.

The local government has begun sandbagging operations to repair 90 meters of the dike in Coloong.

The rehabilitation of 30 meters of the Longos Earth Dike, meanwhile, is now on its second phase, according to the public official.

“We are also repairing the one in Bulacan because when it gets destroyed, it is Valenzuela that serves as a catchbasin for all the water,” Mejia explained.

She added that the local government was seeking the assistance of the Department of Public Works and Highways to repair 9.5 kilometers of the Pala-Pala Earth Dike in Obando, Bulacan.