MMDA sends 2 rescue teams to Zambales

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Monday sent two rescue teams to Zambales province to help in rescue operations for residents trapped in flood-hit villages.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said he sent 20 members of the Public Safety Division and Rescue Battalion after Subic Mayor Jay Khonghun asked for help in evacuating hundreds of affected residents in villages submerged in floodwaters.

"We have deployed two teams in Subic and Olongapo to assist in the rescue and relief operations. They will be coordinating with the municipal and provincial government,” Tolentino said.

The MMDA contingent is equipped with disaster response equipment and gears such as rubber boats and landslide equipment to evacuate residents from flooded areas. 

The same team of rescuers was deployed last year when an earthquake hit Negros Oriental.

Olongapo City has declared a state of calamity as it was hit by the worst flooding in its history due to continuous rains since Sunday.

Meanwhile, six persons died in an early morning landslide in Barangay Wawandue in Subic. Another landslide struck Barangay San Isidro.

Among the villages in Olongapo City worst hit by floods were Sta. Rita, Old Cabalan, and Banicain, where residents were forced to take to the roofs of their houses because of neck-deep floodwaters.

Barangays San Isidro and Naugsol and most of the major roads in Subic were also submerged in floodwaters.