RIDE HOME. Residents of Hagonoy, Bulacan climb on the back of a dump truck used to ferry passengers to outlying villages during the onslaught of typhoon Pedring on Tuesday.
Photo by Dino Balabo
HAGONOY, Bulacan – Like in the past, residents of Calumpit, Pulilan and this town are bracing for back floods that drains from eastern Central Luzon to Manila Bay.
However, this time residents are preparing for longer flooding as typhoon Quiel threaten to hit the country today (Friday) and expected to dump more rains brought by southwest monsoon.
“We will have another blackfloods by Friday and towards the weekend,” said Liz Mungcal, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO).
Mungcal said that the Pampanga River Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (PRFFWC) informed them of high water elevation at Mayapyap River and Candaba Swamps which ware located at the upstream of the Pampanga River.
The same was recorded in Apalit, Pampanga, just beside Calumpit town in Bulacan.
Mungcal said that flood waters draining on Pampanga River will eventually drain to Angat River in Bulacan.
The two rivers are linked by another river between Apalit, Pampanga and Calumpit town in Bulacan.
According to Mungcal, current water elevation on the said river observation centers are slightly higher than the ones recorded in 2004 and 2009 when typhoons Marce and Pepeng dumped heavy rains in eastern Central Luzon.
She said that breach in Bulo dam in San Miguel town on Tuesday afternoon will also contribute to back floods that is expected to further submerge the towns of Pulilan, Calumpit and this town.
“Kung may back floods, madagdagdan pa ito, malalim pa at umaabot hanggang sa dibdib,” said Caridad Robles of Sitio Pulo in Barangay San Jose Calumpit. Residents in Haognoy and Calumpit nd also noy deplored slow restoration of power in their towns.
They said that lack of power supply is also affecting water supply in their towns as local water districts can’t pump water.
However, Meralco President Joe Zaldariago said in a radio interview on Wednesday night that only five percent of their customers are still out of power supply.
He said that slow restoration of their service is due to flooding in some areas including Bulacan.
