Forced evacuation in Macabebe as floods rise days after Ulysses

Residents of a barangay in Macabebe, Pampanga were force evacuated on Sunday morning, as floods continued to rise days after Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco) exited the Philippines.

Among those evacuated were residents of Pulo, one of the most hard-hit areas as floods continued to flow into the area from nearby provinces such as Nueva Ecija.

"Nagkaroon pa rin po kami ng forced evacuation kaninang madaling araw so ngayon po," Jomel Cruz, MDRRMO officer of the Macabebe, Pampanga local government, said in Katrina Son's report on GMA's "24 Oras Weekend" on Sunday.

LOOK : 22 sa 25 na barangay ang apektado pa rin ng baha dito sa Macabebe Pampanga. Ayon sa LGU ng Macabebe mas pinalala pa raw ito ng nagdaang bagyong Ulysses. 16,000 naman daw ang apektadong mga pamilya. pic.twitter.com/y0hjxPWC4Q

— Katrina Son (@iamKatrinaSon) November 15, 2020

"As of today, wala na po 'yung mga tao sa may... meron po kasi kaming isang very critical high-risk area sa may part ng Candelaria which is the Pulo so 'yun po wala na 'yung mga tao dun," he added.

There are currently 12 evacuation centers in the area, with an estimated 500 evacuees and some 16,000 families affected by the floods which entered 22 out of the 25 barangays.

Ulysses hit the country on Wednesday, killing at least 67 and leaving damages worth P1.19 billion in terms of agriculture, and P469.7 million in terms of infrastructure.

The typhoon exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday morning, but heavy rains and the release of water from the Magat Dam and other reservoirs brought about massive flooding in Cagayan and Isabela.

A week before, Super Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni), reported as the strongest storm of 2020 so far, hit several parts of the country leaving over P8 billion in damages.

The floods were at knee-level on Sunday evening, with residents hoping that they subside in the coming days. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/JST, GMA News