CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The major bridge linking Phase 3 to the main access road of St. Jude Village in Barangay San Agustin here collapsed, while a portion of the slope protection of Calulut Creek sagged during the height of Typhoon Ompong’s onslaught over the weekend.
According to City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Raymond del Rosario, St. Jude bridge, which spans the Magliman creek, allegedly collapsed due to the strong and rapid flow of water with different debris and household wastes in the waterway.
“On Saturday morning, around 7:30 a.m., the bridge inside St. Jude Village showed cracks before it finally collapsed an hour later due to the heavy flow of water at Magliman Creek that further softened the soil around it,” Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario said the St. Jude bridge is due for re-construction on February but the homeowners’ refusal delayed it, until it finally gave in Saturday, Del Rosario added.
The breakdown of the said infrastructure reportedly caused flooding with piles of thick mud overrunning the area, Del Rosario added.
Fortunately, Del Rosario said no residents were trapped as the City Government implemented pre-emptive evacuation of the residents in the Phase 3 of St. Jude Village before the expected landfall of Typhoon Ompong.
Del Rosario said the debris at the bridge was already cleared and an access way for pedestrians and motorcycles was constructed as early as Saturday afternoon, and the re-construction of bridge is expected to commence immediately once weather is better.
Bailey bridge
Mayor Edwin Santiago, in a separate interview, told SunStar Pampanga on Monday, September 17, that he has instructed the city engineer to implement immediate interventions to avoid further inconvenience to residents in the village.
“I have given instructions for the contractor to demolish the bridge and construct a bailey bridge there, as well as alternate routes to avoid any further inconvenience to residents,” he said.
Santiago said the rehabilitation of the bridge had long been allocated from the city’s 20 percent development fund, bidded out and set as early as last year, but opposition from some residents got in the way.
“Last January, there was already a notice to proceed for its rehabilitation but opposition to it has delayed it and for several times, put on hold. We had been taking appropriate measures as officials have long seen the problem there even with the waste that we regularly have to clear. For now, immediate interventions are being put in place,” he saod.
Collapsed slope protection in Calulut
Meanwhile, more than a dozen families in Barangay Calulut are in serious danger as their houses are in the verge of being swept away after the slope protection of Calulut Creek also collapsed Saturday morning, September 15.
Del Rosario said they have already evacuated members of the 13 families whose houses are located at the creekside to ensure their safety and protection.
“Fortunately, they voluntarily moved to their relatives’ places even before the slope protection collapsed during the peak of the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong, and they will not be allowed to come back despite the improvement of weather until the slope protection will be rehabilitated,” he said.
Del Rosario said a team from CDRRMO and Department of Public Works and Highways will be monitoring the area to ensure that the homeowners will not put their lives in danger by coming back to their houses.
As of Monday noon, September 17, Del Rosario said that most of the 18 barangays, where portions were flooded over the weekend, have already subsided as of Monday morning.
He clarified, though, that the city’s major thoroughfare, particularly around Dolores junction, was not affected by the flooding, belying the posts circulating on some social media accounts that misled netizens about the current situation of the city.