Heavy rain causes mass flooding, work and school closures in NCR

Passengers of this bus that got submerged in floowaters in Tatalon, QC wait for help (DZRH photo)

Heavy rainfall since Tuesday night and throughout today, Wednesday, caused massive flooding across various parts of Metro Manila and northern provinces.

A state of calamity has been declared in the National Capital Region as a result of the extensive flooding in the region, caused by the southwest monsoon or “habagat” and Tropical Cyclone Carina (named Gaemi outside the Philippines).

The heavy rain prompted the government to close all schools and offices in Metro Manila at 5am today. As of the latest bulletin, three cities have decided to extend the closure order for the entire day tomorrow.

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About 80 flights were cancelled due to the inclement weather, including all those bound for Taiwan, where Carina is headed.

As of 10:30am, the third alarm was raised for Marikina River, after the water level there reached 18.3 meters, and as of the latest information, has now breached the 20-meter level. This meant the "forced evacuation" of residents living near low-lying areas.

The various dams across Luzon, including La Mesa Dam in Quezon City and Ipo and Angat dams in Bulacan, are under continuing surveillance as their water levels continue to rise.

Pump boats are used to transport residents in barangay Tullahan in Marikina

With the declaration of the state of calamity in Metro Manila, all affected local governments will be able to access additional funds for calamity response and impose a price freeze on basic goods. 

According to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. the government has prepositioned P2.88b in calamity fund that can be used for relief operations. About 4,500 government personnel are also on standby to help in search, rescue and retrieval operations.

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In an emergency meeting called this morning in Malacanang, all concerned government agencies were ordered to provide “swift assistance” to all those affected by the widespread flooding.

President Marcos during a morning meeting with key officials on disaster response 

Quezon City, the country’s largest city, is among those heavily hit by the floods,  with 22,000 evacuees being moved to 154 evacuation centers and temporary shelters in churches and covered courts.

So far, 30 roads in Quezon City are impassable, while 80 out of its 143 barangays are affected by flooding, QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Navotas is also badly hit, with about 80 percent of its territory already submerged in floods.

Only Pasig, Makati and Taguig have been left largely unscathed, but their respective mayors extended support for the calamity declaration, saying they realized it would help provide speedy help to those affected in other cities.

Meanwhile, 4 other towns in Oriental Mindoro, Cotabato and Davao Occidental have also placed their respective jurisdictions under a state of calamity due to Typhoon Carina.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has been tapped to help evacuate affected residents who have reportedly refused to leave their homes despite being in low-lying areas and danger zones.

As early as 5am Wednesday, the red rainfall alert was raised over Metro Manila, and remained enforced throughout the day. The alert which indicated associated hazard due to serious flooding, also covered Rizal, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga and Zambales provinces.

The orange warning was issued for Tarlac, the heavy rainfall is threatening to cause serious flooding, while the Yellow warning was raised for Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Nueva Ecija and Quezon(General Nakar, Infanta, Real, Mauban, Sampaloc) where flooding can be expected in some areas.

Raging floodwaters caused this bridge in Naga to collapse

Light to moderate with occasional heavy rains were forecast for Quezon(Candelaria, Dolores, San Antonio, Sariaya, Tiaong, Tayabas, Lucban, Lucena, Pagbilao, Agdangan, Alabat, Atimonan, Buenavista, Burdeos, Calauag, Catanauan, General Luna, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Jomalig, Lopez, Macalelon, Mulanay, Padre Burgos, Panukulan, Patnanungan, Perez, Pitogo, Plaridel, Polillo, Quezon, San Andres, San Francisco, San Narciso, Tagkawayan, Unisan) which may persist within 3 hours.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Carina is expected to continue to bring stormy weather and gale-force winds in the northernmost island of Batanes where the Tropical Cyclone Signal No 2 has been hoisted.

T1 is in force over the Babuyan Islands, the northern portion of mainland Cagayan (Claveria, Santa Praxedes, Sanchez-Mira, Pamplona, Abulug, Ballesteros, Aparri, Camalaniugan, Buguey, Santa Teresita, Santa Ana, and Gonzaga), and the northern portion of Ilocos Norte (Burgos, Bangui, Pagudpud, Dumalneg, and Adams).

Strong winds will prevail in all these areas, with heavy rain also forecast for  Babuyan islands.

Separately, the "habagat" is forecast to bring monsoon rains over the Ilocos Region, Zambales, Bataan, Abra, Benguet, and Occidental Mindoro, and occasional rains over Metro Manila, the rest of the Cordillera region, Cavite, Batangas, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, and Laguna.

It will also cause heavy to intense rainfall over various localities in the western portion of Luzon until Friday.

Monsoon rain is also expected over Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, and the rest of Luzon, and isolated rain showers over the rest of the country.

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