Despite clear skies Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan remain flooded

Though Tropical Storm Lando has stopped dumping torrential rain on Central Luzon, floodwaters continue to plague the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Bulacan.

A report on GMA-7's "24 Oras" on Tuesday said that many residents in Nueva Ecija's Cabanatuan City were having a hard time cleaning up the mud left over from the floodwaters because clean water was unavailable. Many of them resorted to using water from the river.



Some residents claimed that Typhoon Lando's effects were worse than 2009's Typhoon Ondoy.

"Ang kaibahan kasi noong sa Ondoy, mas mabilis tumaas ang tubig [noong sa Lando]. Malaki agad ang volume ng tubig," a resident told GMA News.

The resident recounted that most of his neighbors had gone to the local church to take shelter from Lando. But, as it turned out, the church could not keep residents safe from the floodwaters that reached a house's second floor.

"Nagpunta sa church halos lahat ng residente dito. [Akala] Ligtas na talaga kasi mas mataas ang church. Siguro mga limang minuto, panibagong aklas na naman kasi inabot na iyong church," he explained.

In Barangay Sangitan East, entire homes were submerged in floodwaters, with many of the residents fleeing to rooftops.

By the end of the day, people were trying to escape the flooding by swimming, using empty water containers as improvised floats. Many of these people were women, the elderly, and children.

For another resident in another barangay, Lando's flooding was the the worst he ever experienced. "Mula po ng tumira kami sa Barangay Isla ng Cabanatuan, ngayon lang po kami nakaranas ng ganitong kalalim na tubig," said Mohamad Cabsaran.  

As of posting time, over 4,000 families or more than 19,000 individuals were staying in evacuation centers in Cabanatuan City.

Pampanga

The town of San Luis in Pampanga declared a state of calamity as 11 of its 17 barangays were flooded.



Flooding was worst in Barangays San Juan and San Nicolas where waters rose to six feet after the Arnedo Dike was damaged.

"Sobra talaga ang tubig sa labas, iyong Pampanga River. Hindi na po nakayanan ng sandbagging namin," San Luis Mayor Venancio Macapagal said.  

Residents had no choice but to brave the floodwaters to acquire relief goods.

Meanwhie, the situation at  Barangay Sta. Cruz, which was near the Pampanga River, remained dire. If the river overflowed here, it would also flood the entirety of Barangay San Luis.

In other towns such as San Simon and Candaba, floodwaters were 15 feet high. But many residents did not evacuate. They stayed on rooftops to wait for the floods to subside.

Bulacan

With the sun shining brightly the entirety of Tuesday, floodwaters from upland provinces started flowing down to Bulacan.



Calumpit was the hardest hit with 24 of its barangays submerged in floodwaters.

According to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, 8,071 families or 40,355 individuals were affected by floods, with only 142 families or 7,149 individuals evacuated.

"Mahirap po eh kasi may anak kami na maliliit. Eh mahirap pong [mag evacuate]," Sapang Bayan resident Racquel del Rosario told GMA News.

The Bulacan provincial government was bracing for even worse flooding since floodwaters in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga have yet to subside completely. — Trisha Macas/DVM/NB, GMA News