23 villages in Bulacan flooded

HEAVY rains spawned by Tropical Depression Ferdie over the weekend submerged 23 villages in Bulacan, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported on Monday.

The villages are from the cities of Meycauayan and Malolos and in the towns of Obando, Calumpit and Pulilan, all in Bulacan province.

In a report to PDRRMC chairman Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado, PDRRMO executive officer Liz Mungcal said the seven villages in Meycauayan City are under two to three feet of floodwater due to high tide and heavy rains that pelted many parts of the province since Saturday.

Mungcal said nine villages in Obando are under one to two feet of floodwater, while four villages in Malolos City are submerged under one feet of water.

Two villages in Calumpit and one in Pulilan are also flooded, she said.

“Ferdie” left the Philippine territory Sunday but it brought floods in large areas of Luzon, leaving at least two people dead and six missing, and halting traffic in parts of Manila for hours.

Mungcal, meanwhile, said Bustos Dam continues to release water since Saturday morning.

As of 3 a.m. Monday, Bustos Dam released 90 cubic meters per second of water.

She said that the release is a regular operation at the dam and poised no immediate threat to residents in the downstream of Angat River.

The governor has advised local government units “to monitor their area of responsibility, take appropriate action and report to operation center any untoward incident.”

As of 8 a.m. Monday, the water elevation at Angat Dam is at 190.61 meters, still way below its spilling level of 212 meters. The water elevation at Ipo Dam was 100.36 meters (spilling level is 101 meters).

On Monday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said a new low pressure area (LPA) was spotted east of Mindanao.

Pagasa said the LPA has chance to turn into a tropical depression. Once it does and will enter the Philippine territory, it will be named “Gener,” the seventh weather disturbance to enter the country this year. (PNA/Sunnex)