Families evacuated from flooded village in Rosario, Cavite

Waist-deep floodwaters swamped a village in Rosario town in Cavite province, prompting the evacuation of families from at least 60 houses before dawn Tuesday. Residents of Wawa II village in Rosario town in Cavite were surprised and puzzled as there had been no rain in past days that could have prompted the floods. “Halos baywang na ito kaya ang tao biglang natakot (The floodwaters had reached waist level and the people are getting scared)," village chairman Totoy Enriquez said in an interview on dzBB radio. Radio dzBB reported that the waters started rising at 10 p.m. Monday, even as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) belied a tsunami caused the flooding. Phivolcs head Renato Solidum Jr. assured residents in Rosario town in Cavite and in San Luis in Batangas that the rise in floodwaters was not due to an underground quake or tsunami. He said it was more likely the high tide caused the phenomenon, adding they have not monitored any quake in the area. “Yung lindol na dapat mag-cause nyan ay malakas, dapat nagising sila kung ganoon ang nangyari (If it were a quake it should have been powerful enough to jolt the residents awake)," he said. Enriquez said the waters reached all the way to the main road near the coastal area. The waters also damaged “four to six" bancas, he said. Enriquez also said the sudden rise in water levels may have affected residents of neighboring Wawa I village as well. “Ngayon lang nangyari yan, masyadong hindi kapanipaniwala ... Hindi high tide ito. Nagtataka kami bakit ganito ang tubig (It’s only now that it happened. It’s hard to believe. This is not just high tide. We’re wondering why this is happening)," he said. He said the affected residents in his village had been evacuated to the barangay hall. As of 1 a.m., he said mayor Jose Ricafrente Jr. has inspected the affected areas. “Yung iba ayaw lumikas, bantay ng bahay (The others won’t leave their homes. They wanted to guard their houses)," he said. Rosario is a first-class town with a population of 73,665 people in 15,780 households. - GMANews.TV