Officials allay fears of flooding in Bulacan

MALOLOS CITY — Disaster officials in Bulacan allayed fears of flooding due to the high volume of water released from the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija yesterday morning, saying it won’t affect coastal province unless another typhoon hits the region.

Rodolfo Santos, head of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Office (PDCO) here, said that Pantabangan Dam opened its floodgates at 5 a.m. yesterday to release 200 cubic meters of water per second (cms) in the next six days.

But sources from Nueva Ecija told The STAR that Pantabangan is only releasing 135 cms until water elevation drops to 219 meters.

Apparently, the release of water was meant to ease pressure on the dam that swelled due to heavy rainfall brought by typhoons Milenyo, Paeng, and more recently, Queenie.

Water elevation at the giant reservoir, Santos said, was nearing spilling level yesterday morning.

He said water released from the Dam will eventually drain to Manila Bay after passing through the upland towns of Nueva Ecija to the San Antonio Swamp, then to Candaba Swamp to Pampanga River, then to Angat River in Calumpit town.