Floods hound Camanava due to damaged gate, inadequate pumps

Several areas in the Camanava portion of Metro Manila remain submerged in floodwater, according to a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido on Monday.

Some pedicab drivers in Malabon have been charging passengers up to P120 each as jeepneys are still unable to traverse the flooded roads.

“Napakabigat [kasi] pumadyak sa tubig at malalim. Yung pyesa po ng tricycle, mahal. Madali pong masira,” said a pedicab driver.

(It’s difficult to pedal in water, and it’s too deep. Tricycle parts are expensive. They break easily.)

According to the Malabon City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), Malabon was flooded due to the damaged navigational gate that is supposed to prevent water from the Manila Bay from entering.

It added the floods were taking some time to subside because the pumping stations are unable to handle the volume of water.

“Ang nakikita po namin yung rain volume po ng tubig ay hindi po sapat na i-pump nung kanilang mga pumping station kaya medyo mabagal po yung 'pag subside po ng tubig dito sa harap ng City Hall,” said Malabon CDRRMO Head Roderick Tongol.

(What we are seeing is that the rain volume of the water is not enough for the pumping stations to pump out, so the subsiding of water in front of the City Hall has been slow.)

In neighboring Navotas, two barangays near Malabon still have floods of up to knee-deep.

“Sila [ay] yung direct katabi ay dagat’ tsaka po yung ilog… Pinache-check po namin sa aming engineering kumusta yung mga flood gates. Yung mga maliliit na flood gates, baka ho kailangan i-check at buksan,” said Navotas CDRRMO head Von Villanueva.

(They are the ones directly next to the sea and the river… We are asking engineering to check how the flood gates are doing. Perhaps we need to check and open the smaller flood gates.)

Meanwhile, several roads in Valenzuela remain flooded but are passable to all types of vehicles.

The prevailing floods are contributing to heavier traffic along some parts of the MacArthur Highway. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News