VITAL CONNECTION This photo, taken on Monday, shows the collapsed portion of Agana Bridge in Tarlac City. The bridge was damaged by strong current along Tarlac River on Saturday, cutting off the city’s access to five Tarlac towns and nearby Pangasinan province. —Grig C. Montegrande
SAN ANTONIO, ZAMBALES, Philippines — Flood control measures in Central Luzon region, including an ongoing river dredging program for the past seven years and the construction of flood control structures along major waterways, have proved ineffective in the past days against flooding caused by the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat.”
Thousands of families were again forced to evacuate as the death toll in the region from the effects of the monsoon rose to 31 as of Monday, with most of the fatalities from Zambales and Bulacan.
In Zambales, the dredging of Bucao River in Botolan and Sto. Tomas River in the San Felipe-San Narciso area has been among the flood mitigation efforts being conducted by the provincial government.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order No. 13 also identifies dredging along the Bucao, Maloma and Sto. Tomas rivers as a measure to restore heavily silted channels and help prevent flooding.
All these dredging activities, however, proved to be ineffective as floodwaters submerged communities in Botolan and further wrecked flood control structures already damaged by previous floods.
Damage estimate
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has so far reported P569.27 million in damage to flood control projects in Zambales, with P1.28 billion needed for recovery and reconstruction.
The DPWH 1st District in Zambales accounted for P472.42 million in damage, including sections of Bucao River Dike 7 in Barangay San Juan, Botolan, where more than 3 kilometers of slope protection were reportedly destroyed.
The DPWH 2nd District, on the other hand, recorded another P96.85 million in damage, including revetments along the Tamayok and Matain rivers in Subic and the Sto. Tomas River in San Marcelino.
DESTROYED A section of Bucao River Dike at Barangay San Juan in Botolan, Zambales, is among the flood control structures reported destroyed in the latest assessment of the Department of Public Works and Highways. —Photo courtesy of Botolan LGU
The Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported that 710 families, or 14,052 people, had so far been evacuated. Of these, 552 families or 10,242 people were in evacuation centers as of Aug. 30.
Botolan recorded the highest number of evacuees in shelters with 3,491 people, followed by Cabangan with 1,938.
Agricultural damage and losses, on the other hand, reached P37.55 million, according to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. Rice accounted for P21.58 million, affecting 1,069.42 hectares and 1,267 farmers.
A state of calamity was earlier declared in Zambales following widespread flooding and damage from successive days of heavy rains.
‘Ground zero’
In Bulacan, the so-called “ground zero” of the flood control controversy, at least 15 people have died and three others injured since Aug. 10 amid heavy rains and widespread flooding.
The province also remains under a state of calamity with all 23 towns and cities affected by floods as high as 1.8 meters (6 feet) in some areas.
Fed up with the situation, at least 34 people’s organizations staged an anticorruption rally in Bulacan on Monday, demanding an end to reclamation projects and calling for accountability among officials linked to the flood control scandal.
The groups, under the banner of Kilos Bulacan, also called for comprehensive environmental and flood control measures, compensation for flood victims and stronger action on climate change.
The protesters first gathered at Malolos City Hall Amphitheater and near MacArthur Highway before proceeding to the provincial capitol to hold a short program.
Kilos Bulacan leader Obet Rodrigo said many of Bulacan’s rivers remain swollen, while Leonides Laderas of Hagonoy said the Aug. 31 rally was only the first in a series of planned street protests.
Heavy traffic on NLEx
In Pampanga, motorists traveling on the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) on Sunday were stuck in traffic for hours because of floodwaters ranging from knee to waist-deep in the San Simon and Tulaoc areas.
“Five hours hardly moving, with nowhere to go and no way to get off the expressway,” Kalookan Bishop Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said of his “miserable” experience in a Facebook post on Monday.
Ironically, the Tulaoc overpass bridge had been raised by 0.7 meter three years ago to help prevent flooding in the area. It was also the first time the San Simon Interchange ended up under water.
The flooded portions along NLEx resulted in a long line of vehicles stretching about 8 km on the northbound side and roughly 6 km on the southbound side, NLEx Corp. assistant vice president for traffic operations Robin Ignacio said in a television interview.
For David, the ordeal was particularly “frustrating” because flooding in San Simon was hardly a surprise while NLEx Corp., which had access to real time traffic information, knew which sections were flood-prone.
“We pay substantial toll fees precisely because we expect a toll expressway to provide a reasonably safe, properly maintained and efficiently managed facility,” he said.
Monthlong death toll
Successive tropical cyclones, combined with the enhanced habagat, have caused widespread flooding in many parts of the country since Aug. 1, leaving 33 dead.
The Office of Civil Defense said on Monday that it is verifying reports about 14 additional fatalities.
Eleven of the fatalities are still under verification, supposedly drowned—nine in San Marcelino, Zambales; and one each in Olongapo City and Capas town in Tarlac. The remaining three were killed in landslides—two in Zambales and the third in Porac, Pampanga. OCD Assistant Secretary Raffy Alejandro IV said that four other individuals were missing after the collapse of the Agana Bridge in Tarlac City. This was on top of the three previously reported.
The death toll of 33 was reported earlier in the day by OCD Director Vicente Gregorio Tomas in a press briefing. He said that 19 others had suffered injuries, while the monsoon has so far affected a total of 8.8 million people nationwide.