Camanava residents fleeing from floods

Over 200 families in perennially-flooded areas in Camanava, particularly Valenzuela and Malabon, were taken to higher ground yesterday as a potent mix of torrential monsoon rains and the high tide are expected today.

Most local executives braved the rains doing the rounds in whatever means of transportation, including amphibious vehicles loaned out by the Philippine Navy, to personally assess the flood situation and orchestrate distribution of relief goods.

Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian has been going around the barangays mostly in low-lying District 1 the last three days.

The mayor said some 150 families (around 750 persons) were rescued from Barangays Polo, Isla, Pasolo, Coloong, Balangkas, Veinte Reales, Dinalagan and Malinta, where floodwaters breached the four-feet mark, about neck-deep, and brought to public elementary schools and barangay health centers.

He said distribution of relief goods continued even as he ordered City Hall rescue units to be on standby 24-hours for immediate disaster response.

Marither Menia, city public information officer, said eight of the city’s 32 barangays were severely affected by the rains brought in by the last two storms that lashed the country.

Venus Gaoiran, city social welfare and development chief, said she has also sent a team to assess the situation in low-lying Marulas, where the heavily silted Tullahan River crosses the Macarthur Highway in the Valenzuela-Malabon boundary.

After the overnight downpour, the bridge was held impassable to all vehicles for some hours, with rampaging waters and garbage riding the top of the bridge at neck-deep.

Malabon City Mayor Canuto "Tito" Oreta yesterday reported some 50 families (around 300 persons) were rescued from chest-deep waters in Barangay Dampalit and transferred to the Merville Elementary School as their temporary shelter.

Oreta joined Northern Police District director Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, city police chief Senior Superintendent Moises Guevarra and public information officer Bong Padua aboard a military amphibious truck yesterday to personally supervise the evacuation of the residents.

City officials feared the city is now about 75 percent submerged with even the regular rising of the tides in Manila Bay seriously feared.

Ronnie Gumatay of the local public information office said the high tide is coming in today at 1.9 meters by 11:36 a.m.

Residents of waterlogged Barangay Longos were urged to leave as waters threatened to rise further, but most insisted on waiting out the receding high tide.

In Navotas, Mayor Toby Tiangco said the situation is more or less manageable. He said the 10 pumping stations he put up in strategic places around town is holding up despite incidents of "overtop" by the Malabon-Navotas River.

Public information officer Jerry Doringo said "overtop" is a term used by engineers to describe a situation where the volume of water pumped out by existing pumps into the river is "returned" by the same river already overflowing its banks.

The mayor said there was no need for any evacuation efforts at this time although he has ordered the town disaster and rescue group on a 24-hour alert for any emergency. Tiangco, in this regard, has ordered the disaster groups on the implementation of a "synchronized disaster plan."

Tiangco has mobilized two amphibious vehicles loaned out to the local government by the Navotas-based 202nd Naval Reserve Brigade, headed by Capt. Rufino Tiangco.

Also being utilized were several 6x6 trucks to ferry stranded commuters and local residents.

Four of 14 barangays, Tanza, Daanghari, San Jose and North Bay Boulevard south, were seriously threatened yesterday.

Caloocan City is the least affected by the floods in Camanava, but City Mayor Enrico Echiverri has ordered the city disaster and rescue units to be on 24-hour alert.

The mayor said all city roads were passable to all vehicles except the area in the Dagat-Dagatan complex, particularly in Lapu-Lapu and Hasa-Hasa streets, where the waters were neck-deep early yesterday morning. The waters have considerably receded by late afternoon.

The local governments of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas announced that classes in all levels are suspended today. In Valenzuela, classes in the elementary and secondary levels are suspended.