A total of 15 barangays in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan were flooded as the Sinocalan River rose to a critical level of seven meters, forcing nearly 400 residents into evacuation centers.

The Sta. Barbara Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) reported that floodwaters entered homes quickly after a dike overflowed and repairs on other flood-control structures failed to hold.

“Iyong sa Sinucalan dati pa rin, nanggagaling talaga sa upstream iyan. Pero may umapaw iyong dike namin, tapos iyong mga ginagawang dike, ni-repair, eh doon ang cause ng mabilis pumasok iyong tubig sa mga kabahayan,” Sta. Barbara DRRM officer Raymundo Santos said.

Among those affected was Rowena Santiago, who blamed poor drainage.

“Kasi dati po mayroon kaming drainage po diyan. Napabayaan namin. Mula noong ginawa yang bagong building diyan, ayon, hindi na umandar ang tubig,” she said.

Floodwaters reached chest level in Barangay Maticmatic last Tuesday before subsiding. Still, evacuees remain unable to return home.

“Uuwi na ba kayo o hindi pa? … Hindi pa po kasi may tubig pa iyong higaan ng lola ko,” Alviniah Mae Plasuelo, a resident, said.

As of September 25, 2025, the MDRRMO said 87 families, or 399 individuals, were staying in evacuation centers.

Authorities continue to monitor the river and have urged residents in low-lying areas to stay alert in case rains return.