City of San Fernando—Widespread flooding due to continuous rains and high tide since Tuesday have submerged all 26 villages of Masantol town, according to the latest update released by the Pampanga Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office on Thursday.
A total of 48 low-lying coastal villages have been inundated by floodwaters 3 to 7 feet deep in Macabebe, Masantol, San Luis and Candaba towns, according to PDRRMO chief Angelina Blanco.
The office is monitoring the conditions of other towns situated along the Pampanga River, the catch basin of floodwaters from the uplands of Nueva Ecija.
Local government units in Central Luzon had prepared for the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Pepito” as it continued to bring rains over most parts of the region even as it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday.
Since Monday, local governments in the seven provinces in the region—Aurora, Bulacan, Bataan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Zambales—have prepared to ease the effects of the weather disturbance.
Blanco said a total of 8,422 families or 36,725 individuals have been affected and dislocated by floods. She said no evacuations have been reported as residents opted to stay in their homes.
The situation, Blanco said, was aggravated by high tide, as the towns of Masantol and Macabebe are in coastal areas of Pampanga, while flooding in San Luis and Candaba is due to the overflowing Pampanga River.
Damage to agricultural crops was pegged at P1,576,520 in San Simon and Magalang towns due to flooding, PDRRMO reported.
Blanco said a family of three in Porac town was evacuated to higher ground to avoid being trapped by flash floods, as their house is near a river. She said preemptive evacuation had to be enforced as “cascading huge volume of water swelled to an alarming level.”
Evacuation centers in different areas of Pampanga have been readied in the event the situation worsens, Blanco said. Rescue personnel and equipment, including medical teams and ambulances, have been prepositioned to respond to any situation.