Thursday, July 08, 2004 Pampanga town flashflood kills 1, endangers many By Minerva Zamora-Arceo and Rhay Navales
MABALACAT -- A 40-year-old man died while a 500-meter portion of the Quitangil Creek protection slope collapsed after a deadly flash flood hit this town in Pampanga Tuesday afternoon.
Police said the fatality, Flor Tornato of Barangay San Francisco, was swept away by the strong current at the Quitangil Creek as she was washing empty sacks at the height of the heavy rains last Tuesday.
Mabalacat Mayor Marino "Boking" Morales, who inspected a collapsed portion of the protection slope in Barangay San Francisco Wednesday morning, said the unusual large volume of water that scoured the 500-meter rubble concrete reportedly came from the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) drainage system.
The mayor expressed alarm over the situation saying that at least 600 families in Barangays Mabiga and San Francisco are threatened by the damaged protection slope and sporadic flow of floodwaters in the creek.
He appealed to the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), which originally poured P56 million for the Quitangil Creek embankment structure, and concerned government agencies to conduct vital engineering works along the Quitangil Creek to save lives and properties.
CDC president and CEO Emmanuel Y. Angeles assured Morales they will address the problem by immediately sending engineers to assess the damage and provide a permanent solution to the problem.
According to the mayor, at least P30 million worth of properties were also damaged in the flashflood.
"CDC should do something about this because the flash flood coming from Clark has affected lives and properties in Mabalacat town," said Morales who sought the immediate construction of strong embankments to contain future flash floods in the Quitangil Creek.
Residents of Barangay San Francisco recounted that the flash flood struck around 4:30 p.m. and lasted for 30 minutes, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.
They also claimed that heavy rains were accompanied by hail as marble-sized pellets of ice hit their roofs.
The residents added this is the first time they experienced a flashflood even as they asked for assistance from the local government to save them from further danger by immediately repairing the creek's concrete embankment.
Aside from Morales, Pampanga Gov. Mark Lapid and Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) executive director Andy Austria also visited the victims of the flashflood.
Lapid said he already ordered Austria to provide at least 10,000 empty sacks for immediate sandbagging operations in the area.
"Pending Mabalacat's appeal for the reconstruction of the Quitangil Creek concrete embankment, the PDCC advised municipal officials to do sandbagging operations to cushion possible large volume of water coming from Clark," Lapid said.
Austria also said although the sandbagging operation is only a temporary solution to the problem, it will, however, lessen the impact of water and could even save the remaining portion of the protection slope.
Provincial Social Welfare Officer Luchie Gutierrez also distributed 250 packages of relief goods to the flood victims upon Lapid's orders.
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