Bulacan town flooded again

MALOLOS CITY ,Philippines  – At least 21 of the 49 barangays in San Miguel town were again submerged in floodwaters spawned by continuous heavy rains Saturday night.

Records obtained by The STAR from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PRRMO) showed that the flooded barangays are Bardias, Baritan, King Kabayo, Penambaran, Salacot, San Agustin, Mandile, Ilog-Bulo, Bagong Silang, Tigpalas, Batasang Bata, Batasang Matanda, Buga, Salangan, San Jose, San Juan, Maligaya, San Vicente, Lambakin, Camias, and Sta. Lucia.

PDRRMO head Liz Mungcal said flood on the eastern part of the town has receded, but the villages in the western side near the Candaba Swamp remain flooded.

It was the second time that the town was hit by heavy flooding after the onslaught of typhoon “Pedring” on Sept. 27.

“We haven’t recovered from the floods caused by Pedring and we are being flooded again,” former mayor Jose Edmundo Buencamino said, quoting residents of San Miguel.

Buencamino, however, said that unlike the flooding spawned by heavy rains brought by Pedring, the recent flooding was due to clogged waterways.

He cited the volume of mud, rocks and garbage coming from the Sierra Madre mountains.

Meanwhile, in Isabela, the towns of Santo Tomas, Delfin Albano, Santa Maria and Cabagan as well as Cauayan City were isolated after the three bridges linking them to the rest of the province were submerged in floodwaters. – With Charlie Lagasca, Raymund Catindig