CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan -- Several low-lying villages in the City of San Jose del Monte and the towns of Santa Maria, Bocaue and Marilao were hit by flashfloods Friday morning, prompting the evacuation of over 100 families.
Reports from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) headed by Felicisima Mungcal said the flashfloods were caused by the swelling of the river system of the said localities as early as 4 a.m. The water subsided by noontime.
“Some families in the towns of Sta. Maria and Bocaue along its respective riverbanks were forcibly evacuated as the water immediately overflowed and floodwaters continued to rise from 2 to 4 feet,” Mungcal said.
"Two evacuation centers were also established in Sta. Maria town, taking in a total of 117 families," she said. She, however, failed to give the number of families evacuated in Bocaue.
Mungcal said three villages in Sta. Maria town were inundated by up to four feet deep of water; six villages in Bocaue; three villages in Marilao; and five villages in the City of San Jose del Monte.
Likewise, she said that roads in Barangays Bambang, Sulucan, Bunlo and Binang 1st, all in Bocaue town, were submerged in 2 to 4-foot deep floodwaters starting at 5 a.m. and were rendered impassable for all kinds of vehicles.
Meanwhile, Rep. Florida Robes said that the flashflood originated from the deforested part of the Sierra Madre Mountain range in the City of San Jose del Monte.
Supt. Fitz Macariola, police chief of the City of San Jose Del Monte, said the initial report that reached him said a house was washed out by the flashflood in Barangay Minuyan and some 30 families were affected.
Macariola also said that there were six houses damaged in Sitio Sulukan, Sapang Palay Proper, also in the City of San Jose Del Monte.
The PDRRMO reported that water elevations in the three dams in Bulacan were monitored at 8 a.m. as 196.99 meters for Angat Dam, more than 13 meters below its flood season high water level; Ipo Dam, 101.75 meters against its spilling level of 101.00 meters; and Bustos Dam at 17.61 meters against its spilling level of 17.50 meters.
So far, only Bustos Dam has released water from two of its spill gates that were opened up to four meters each and discharged a total of 135 cubic meters per second of water. (PNA)
