Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Several municipalities in Pampanga and Pangasinan were placed under a state of calamity due to intense flooding caused by the onslaught of monsoon rains over the past week.
The city of San Fernando and municipalities of Sto. Tomas and Macabebe in Pampanga and Dagupan City in Pangasinan on Wednesday passed separate resolutions for the use of emergency funds for recovery and rehabilitation.
Central Luzon’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) reported that 201 barangays in the region remain flooded as of Thursday morning.
Pampanga is worst hit with 192 barangays still submerged in floods up to five feet high.
Eleven villages in San Fernando, 22 in Macabebe and seven in Sto. Tomas are also flooded, the RDRRMC said.
Over 350,000 residents in 204 villages were affected by the flooding in Pampanga, while 1,631 families are staying at 71 evacuation centers.
No casualties were reported in Pampanga, but three people died in Bulacan and Bataan due to drowning; seven others were injured, while two people from Bulacan are missing.
Meanwhile, over 250 residents were evacuated in Dagupan City as a result of heavy monsoon rains, the local government said in a news release Wednesday.
Habagat weakens
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the southwest monsoon or “habagat” has weakened as of 11:00 a.m. Thursday.
The state weather bureau said isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms will be felt over the Ilocos region, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan.
Related: PAGASA declares start of rainy season
Damages
Monsoon rains damaged ₱13 million worth of crops in Pampanga, based on estimates of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) on Wednesday morning.
Parts of the Baliuag – Candaba Road and Candaba – San Miguel Road in Candaba, Pampanga are not passable to all types of vehicles as of Thursday morning. Some 11 other roads in Pampanga are not passable to light vehicles, while three are hardly passable to heavy vehicles.
Meanwhile, the local government of Tarlac City is closely monitoring the Tarlac River dike after it was damaged several times over the past week, due to heavy rains. The latest incident happened Wednesday afternoon – a damage of 30 meters long. Sandbagging operations are underway, the Tarlac City government said.
“This is a much better option than doing nothing to secure the lives of the residents na nakatira malapit sa lugar na ito at sa mga (who live nearby and the) business establishments along our commercial area,” Tarlac City Mayor Cristy Angeles said in a Facebook post.
CNN Philippines’ Digital Producer Eimor Santos and Pampanga-based journalist Justine Dizon contributed to this report.
