PILAR, Bataan -- Heavy rains triggered by the southwest monsoon and Tropical Storm Henry caused flashfloods in 46 villages in nine towns and one city of this province.
Partial report from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) showed that the affected villages were from the towns of Dinalupihan; Hermosa; Orani; Abucay; Pilar; Orion; Limay; Mariveles; and Morong and the City of Balanga.
“Sa 11 bayan ng probinsya, Samal at Bagac ang wala pang report. Ang baha ay one to four feet ang lalim na ang pinakamalalim ay sa Pilar where evacuation is ongoing (Of the 11 towns in the province, Samal and Bagac have no reports yet. The flooding is one to four feet deep and the deepest is in Pilar where evacuation is ongoing),” PDRRMO chief Josefina Timoteo said.
According to her, 60 individuals from Balanga City and 36 others from Morong town are now in evacuation centers.
Timoteo said that national roads were passable except the portion of the Roman Highway in Barangays Balut and Bilolo in Orion town where road construction is going on.
“As early as June, the PDRRMO and its attached agencies have readied their equipment and resources to assist local government units (LGUs) in cases of any calamity and disaster,” she added.
Severely affected by the flood were residents in Barangay Poblacion, Pilar town.
Water from the swollen river almost overflowed in a bridge along the MacArthur Highway in Pilar where rescue workers are on watch.
“Hanggang leeg ang tubig sa amin. Galing ito sa tabon at sa irrigation. Biglang lumaki tubig ngayong umaga (The floodwaters are up to neck-deep. The waters came from the dike and irrigation. The waters suddenly rose this morning),” 59-year-old Domingo Lutario said.
Roxanne Bernabe and a girl companion were the early evacuees at the Poblacion barangay hall.
"Hanggang hita ang tubig sa loob ng bahay namin. Ipinagtataas namin ang mga gamit (The floodwater inside our house is up to thigh-deep. We placed our things in a higher area),” she said, adding that water began to rise at 6 a.m. (PNA)
