Pampanga in state of calamity; 636 CL villages still inundated

SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga — At least 636 villages in Central Luzon are still under floodwaters as local governments placed Tuesday the province of Pampanga and some parts of Bulacan under a state of calamity after tropical storm “Falcon” fled.

Damage to agriculture in Central Luzon is pegged at more than P93 million, authorities said.

The 18 municipalities under state of calamity in Pampanga are Apalit, Arayat, Bacolor, Candaba, Floridablanca, Guagua, Lubao, Macabebe, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, Porac, San Luis, San Simon, Santa Ana, Santa Rita, Santo Tomas, and Sasmuan.

This capital city is also under a state of calamity with most classes suspended because schools remain inundated or serve as evacuation centers for families displaced by the floods.

Pampanga’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in the towns of Candaba, some barangays are still under seven feet of floodwaters while in Masantol and Macabebe towns, most business activities are paralyzed because of knee-high floods.

The PDRRMC initially pegged the flood's damages in the province to infrastructures and agriculture at P300 million.

In Bulacan, Malolos City Mayor Christian D. Natividad declared the city under a state of calamity as 35 of its villages remain submerged under one to five feet of floodwaters.

Natividad said at least 6,230 families or 29,602 persons were affected by the heavy floods that hit the city. He said that some 413 families or 2018 persons are still sheltered in various evacuation centers.

As of press time, the city government is still in the process of assessing damages in infrastructures, crops and fisheries.

Back-flooding also submerged four villages in Pulilan and two more in Calumpit before noon on Monday.

Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado dispatched medical, relief and rescue teams in the hardest-hit areas, including Hagonoy.

Meanwhile, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council based in this city said that some 201,872 families or 955,794 individuals were affected in Central Luzon.