Several areas in Quezon Province still flooded due to Pepito

Several areas in Quezon are still flooded and recovering from the destruction brought by Typhoon Pepito before it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday.

According to Ian Cruz’s report on “24 Oras,” a state of calamity was declared in the town of Lopez after first experiencing Tropical Depression Ofel and later on Pepito.

“Out of 95 barangays, 42 barangay ang nakapag-report. And they reported more than 3,000 evacuees. So, individuals, nasa 12,000 po ‘yung individuals na affected doon,” Mayor Rachelle Ubana said.

“But hindi naman lahat ay nasa evacuation centers. ‘Yung iba naka-uwi na rin,” she added.

Due to the receding flood water, the roofs of houses that were completely underwater on Wednesday can now be seen.

Meanwhile, boats are still the primary method of transportation of residents who want to cross the 3-foot deep flood on the highway.

The latest data from the local government showed that around 4,000 individuals and 1,500 cars are stranded in the area due to the closed roads.

The local government said it is looking to upgrade the roads or to place bridges so the flow of transportation will not be halted during flooding in primary roads going to Bicol, Visayas, and Mindanao or roads going back to Manila.

“Ito po ay jurisdiction ng DPWH, so mag a-ano po kami, mag-appeal, or we will make a request na i-prioritze yung pag papataas nitong area na ito,” Ubana said.

In Buenavista, Quezon, footage showed the damage brought by Pepito as many houses and establishments remain flooded. This included a basketball court, leading residents to transfer parked motorcycles to higher ground.

Residents also tried to salvage the items in their houses.

In Catanauan, Quezon, there were many individuals stranded on the roads on Wednesday afternoon.

“Papasok ng bayan ng Catanauan, traffic, hindi makalampas ang mga sasakyan. Baha. Grabe, ang taas nga,” Asia Mancia, the one who took the video, could be heard saying. — Joahna Lei Casilao/BM, GMA News