8 teachers rescued from rain-swollen river in Zambales

Eight teachers were rescued from a river in the lahar area in Botolan, Zambales after the water level rose due to the rains, according to a GMA Integrated News Bulletin report on Sunday.

Video provided by the Botolan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) showed a man on a carabao bringing several people out of the Malumboy River to safety.

The MDRRMO said the victims were crossing the river when the water level suddenly rose due to the heavy rains.

Local authorities explained the waters mixed with the lahar deposits from Mount Pinatubo, causing rising water levels during the rainy season.

State weather bureau PAGASA said the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat may spur rains over a large swath of the country.

Monsoon rains are forecast over Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, and the northern portion of Palawan while Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon may experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.

Western Visayas, La Union, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Romblon, and the rest of Palawan may have occasional rains while Mindanao and the rest of Visayas are expected to have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms. — Sundy Locus/BM, GMA Integrated News