142 Pampanga villages still flooded; state of calamity up

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The weather has improved but floodwaters from Bulacan and Nueva Ecija still inundate at least 142 barangays in 13 Pampanga towns, as deep as 10 feet in some areas, prompting Gov. Lito Lapid to declare a state of calamity.

This, despite two major multibillion-peso projects designed to minimize flooding in the province.

Daryll Sanchez, of the provincial disaster coordinating council, cited partial reports showing that flood damage to agricultural crops has reached at least P6.5 million.

Even as the weather has improved since last Sunday, Sanchez said floodwaters in many Pampanga towns have continued to rise.

She cited the case of Apalit town which found itself inundated yesterday due to floodwaters from Nueva Ecija and Bulacan flowing into the Pampanga River.

In Candaba town, she said floodwaters rose to as high as 10 feet.

The P2-billion anti-flooding component of the Pampanga Delta Development Project (PDDP), consisting of the widening and deepening of the Pampanga River, was supposed to channel floodwaters from Nueva Ecija and Bulacan into Manila Bay.

Despite this, towns that were supposed to benefit from the flood control project, including Candaba, Macabebe and Masantol, are among those now heavily inundated, according to the provincial disaster coordinating council.

Sanchez said barangays in this city and in the towns of Guagua, Sasmuan, Floridablanca, Mexico, San Simon, Sta. Rita, Sto. Tomas, Apalit, Minalin and San Luis are also flooded.