Four days of monsoon rain leaves Central and southern Luzon inundated

Four days of continued monsoon rains has left Central and southern Luzon inundated, families homeless and infrastructure ruined. Apart from the National Capital Region, some areas in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac are still flooded, whether from just a few inches of water to several feet deep. Also, the heavy deluge caused rivers and creeks to swell, washing out roads, a dike, a bridge and an irrigation dam. In Sta. Rosa, Laguna, nearly all the barangays were still underwater, a television report aired on GMA’s “24 Oras” said. About 50 houses were washed away after a river overflowed, while 200 houses were damaged affecting about 500 families. “Tulungan niyo po kami lalo na ang dami naming mga ank. Wala kami matitrhan,” one resident lamented. In nearby San Pedro town in Laguna, some residents were still under chest-deep floods. “Parang flash flood itong nangyari sa amin, dati naman hindi kami nakakaranas ng ganito,” said Renan Romy, chairman of Brgy. Landayan. Laguna governor ER Ejercito vowed to start the construction a megadike and a spillway in the province to ease the perennial problem of flooding in Laguna., Meanwhile, Minalin, Pampanga and Tanza, Cavite were flooded as infrastructure was overwhelmed by the heavy rains. About 50 meters of the dike in the town of Minalin was breached leaving 26 barangays with knee-deep floods. In Cavite, an irrigation dam broke in Tanza town, leaving residents near the structure flooded. Although floodwater subsided in some areas, people living in coastal and riverside areas were still flooded. Livelihood In Meycauayan town in Bulacan, two barangays were still under a four-foot flood, which left basketball courts looking like Olympic-sized swimming pools. Despite this, residents in the said town used their customized pedicabs to transport passengers and earn an income. “Amphibian” tricycles were also spotted in the area. “Sanay na kami kasi araw-araw ganito. Walang nangyayari. Laging ganito, kahit walang ulan baha pa rin sa amin,” one of the pedicab drivers said. “Kailangan po naming magtrabaho. Sa laki po ng tubig, wala po kaming makain kaya napipilitan po kaming pumadyak, kahit na malalaim okay naman po sa amin,” one driver said. Even though floodwaters did subside in some areas and families were able to return to home, a new problem presented itself – the mud and sillt left by the flood. Also, the flood left behind heaps of garbage, which some residents picked at as plastics and other scraps could be sold at junk shops. As of Wednesday morning, about one million Filipinos were affected by the continued monsoon rain, enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring. The state weather forecaster projected that the tropical storm would continue to enhance the southwest monsoon even after exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility. — Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/DVM, GMA News