CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – Thousands of residents in the town of Calumpit have abandoned their homes after flood spawned by Typhoon Ulysses and water released from dams in the province reached six feet high. They are now staying either with relatives or in evacuation centers.
Governor Daniel R. Fernando immediately ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Liz Mungcal to dispatch rescue teams to submerged villages.
Mungcal said nearly 45, 000 families were affected by the rising floods. As of 4:pm Sunday (Nov. 15), at least 2,007 families were evacuated to 93 evacuation centers in the province.
The worst-hit villages in the town of Calumpit are Sapang Bayan which is submerged in four to eight feet of water; Gugo, Meysulao, and San Miguel (two to eight feet); Frances and Gatbuca (two to seven feet); Sta Lucia (two to five feet); Calizon, Iba O'Este, Pungo, San Jose, and Sto Nino( two to four feet); and Caniogan (two to three feet).
The 16 other villages are under one to four feet water.
Many roads are not passable to all types of vehicles in Bulacan including the national road of Barangays Balungao, Calizon, and Bulusan going to Hagonoy.
Ten villages in Hagonoy are under one to four feet of floodwater. These are Barangay San Juan, Palapat, San Isidro, San Miguel, Iba, San Pedro, Sta Monica, Tampok, Tibaguin, and San Agustin. .
This city has 34 flooded barangays, Paombong has eight, and Pulilan has four.
On Sunday (Nov 15), the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office here rescued a family on the roof of their house with three children after floodwaters rose to six feet.
Fernando said municipal and disaster control officials are monitoring the situation, anticipating back floods to flow downstream to Hagonoy in two to three days.
Calumpit and Hagonoy are perennial catch basins of back floods coming from flooded areas in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.
Meanwhile, Bulacan police director Colonel Lawrence B. Cajipe deployed maneuver platoons from the Provincial Safety Company to augment local policemen in helping flood victims in Calumpit and Hagonoy.