Home Headlines Dinalupihan town almost 80% flood-free

Dinalupihan town almost 80% flood-free

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DINALUPIHAN, Bataan — Gone are those days when this only landlocked town in the province was flooded for days, most areas with up to breast-deep flood waters and roads not passable to all types of vehicles, the municipal administrator and municipal engineer said Wednesday.

Administrator Roland Rojas said of the 46 barangays usually flooded whenever the southwest monsoon struck, only 10 remain flooded Mayor Maria Angela “Gila” Garcia took over the reign of the municipal government six years ago.

“Flooding then lasted for almost a week but now it takes only some hours to subside in the 10 remaining villages,” he said.

Rojas said right after Garcia assumed the mayorship, she focused on the perennial flooding problem in the town and a year after, she embarked on a massive flood control program.

Acting municipal engineer Isagani Chavez said the mayor initiated the desilting of rivers and creeks, clearing of canals and construction of additional ones, strengthening of dikes and upgrading of roads.

He estimated that with the completion of the projects, Dinalupihan is already 80 percent flood-free.

The projects, the engineer said, were made possible through the assistance of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the provincial government under Gov. Albert Garcia, the mayor’s brother.

The DPWH even began constructing – now nearing completion – a multi-million-peso manmade river to lessen spillage of water from the adjacent Layac River that during the past years easily became swollen and spilled over the surrounding villages.

Rojas said to address the remaining flood problem in 10 villages, Mayor Garcia has requested DPWH to fund the desilting with slope protection of the Lambingan Creek in Barangay Pita down to the Dila-Dila Creek in Barangay San Ramon to the Colo River.

The project in coordination with DPWH, provincial and the municipal governments will pass through barangays Sapang Balas, New San Jose and Sto. Nino.

The municipal engineer said DPWH has funded the three-kilometer project for P150 million but to early end up flooding in the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway tunnels in Sapang Balas and Pita, the provincial and municipal governments will allocate P50 million for the desilting project.

Rojas said about 12,000 residents are affected by the flooding in the two SCTEx tunnels so Mayor Garcia ordered the construction of canals in the area for the flood to easily subside.

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