116 Bulacan barangays remain flooded

MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan, Philippines — Even as incessant rains have eased, 116 barangays in Bulacan remain submerged in one foot to six feet of floods, with 8,728 people still sheltered in evacuation sites, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said yesterday.

PDRRMO chief Manuel Lukban Jr. said Barangay Meysulao in Calumpit town has the worst floods, with waters up to six feet as of yesterday morning.

The town has at least 28 barangays under floodwaters.

Lukban said 41 barangays in Malolos are flooded, followed by Hagonoy with 25, Paombong with 14, Bocaue and Guiguinto with seven each as well as Pulilan and Balagtas towns with four each.

He noted that Hagonoy and Paombong were flooded because of the high tide and the floods receding in nearby Pampanga and Nueva Ecija provinces.

The rest of the areas were flooded due to rainfall and high tide.

Lukban said losses to livestock and poultry were partially placed at P3.2 million while that of agriculture and fisheries were pegged at P96.3 million.

Meanwhile, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Central Luzon acting director Christian Manalo told The STAR that a partial damage report showed that 9,193.72 hectares of rice farmlands were submerged in floodwater in the past days.

Manalo said at least 5,288 farmers are affected, as the NIA continues to validate if the submerged rice crops can still recover.

The affected farmlands include 3,495 hectares in Bulacan, 2,144 has. in Aurora and Nueva Ecija, 2,411 has. in Pampanga and Bataan, 1,083 has. in Tarlac and 59 has. in Zambales.