MANILA, Philippines — Authorities on Wednesday described the flood situation in the northern Metro Manila is still ‘very bad,’ with the water in some areas too deep even for trucks bringing relief goods.

During an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reducton and Management Council (NDRRMC) at Camp Aguinaldo, Philippine National Police (PNP) Police Community Relations Group (PCRG) chief, Director Lina Sarmiento reported to President Benigno S. Aquino III that the floods in the Camanava (Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela) area had not subsided.

Sarmiento said rubber boats instead of trucks were used to ferry relief goods to the affected residents.

Many other areas in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Ilocos and Calabarzon were still unreachable by land vehicles because of flooding, Sarmiento said..

‘It is important that in areas that are not passable to all vehicles where there is isolation, the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) must monitor the supplies in evacuation centers and check if these are running low. These areas should have priority especially for amphibians and all these other crafts,’ Aquino said.

Government helicopters must make an aerial inspection of flood-devastated areas ‘just to make sure nobody is left isolated and not being attended to,’ he said.

And since there are roads passable by vehicles and others still flooded, the President said there must ‘full force’ of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to guide motorists ‘to be able get from point A to point B.’

Tow trucks should also be on standby to help stalled vehicles, the President said.

He asked the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) ‘to speak with one voice’ in the wake of conflicting weather reports.

Aquino was visibly annoyed that he received a red alert from PAGASA to prepare for heavy rains while the forecaster present in the NDRMMC predicted light to moderate rains.

Aquino said he decided to call off his visits to evacuation centers in Quezon City, Marikina City and Malabon to today, saying he did not want to interrupt relief operations Wednesday.

Sarmiento likewise reported 19 deaths due to the heavy downpour for the past days. The NDRRMC, however, listed only 16 fatalities from the effects of the monsoon rains in its latest report.

Massive rescue operations in areas affected by widespread flooding triggered by torrential monsoon rains are now in full swing as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that more than 1.2 million people were affected by the inclement weather in Metro Manila and a large part of Luzon.

As of noon time Wednesday, NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos said rescue operations were still ongoing, noting that at least 30 percent of Metro Manila and several coastal towns in Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan are still submerged in floods. Ramos appealed to the public, particularly those affected by the massive flooding, to remain on alert and not to return to their homes yet until the weather improves.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised anew the red warning signal for heavy rainfall at 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon due to heavy rains caused by a series of thunderstorms from the southwest monsoon.

Red Warning Up Anew

Metro Manila was placed under red signal for 30 consecutive hours, from 9 p.m. on August 6 to 3 a.m. on August 8, due to torrential monsoon rains. It was downgraded to yellow signal at 9 a.m. Wednesday and terminated at noon.

Red warning signal is the highest alert for rainfall, particularly if “rainfall observation is more than 30 mm (heavy rains) within one hour or if continuous rainfall is for the past three hours is greater than 65 mm.”

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said more than 1,500 policemen from Metro Manila and nearby regions were deployed for relief and rescue missions in barangays and roadways that remain flooded.

Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., PNP spokesman, said a total of 1,111 policemen were already deployed in affected areas in Quezon City, Marikina, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela.

Ramos said augmentation forces from military units in Cagayan Valley and Bicol had arrived in Metro Manila to assist in the rescue and relief operations.

The official said the PNP Academy also joined in the relief efforts by deploying at least 45 of its cadets in Metro Manila.

SM Foundation is also conducting its own relief operations.

SM group of companies, through SM Foundation, conducted relief operations Wednesday in the following areas: 1) SM Novaliches – 1,500 bags; 2) SM Sta. Mesa – 1,500 bags (scheduled Wednesday but not passable yet); 3) SM Marikina – 1,500 bags; 4) SM MOA – 1,500 bags; and 5) SM Fairview – 1, 500 bags.

Today, August 9, 2012, all malls will simultaneously go on relief distribution as follows: 1) SM Calamba – 1,000 bags; 2) SM Marilao – 1,500 bags; 3) SM Valenzuela – 1,500 bags; 4) Olongapo – 500 bags; 5) SM Fernando – 1,000 bags; 6) Mexico – 700 bags; 7) Bacoor – 1,000 bags; and 8) Rosario – 1,000 bags.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), meanwhile, warned that although monsoon rains may have slightly weakened, flood crisis continues to linger in the metropolis.

Corazon Jimenez, MMDA general manager, said the number of affected victims is still growing prompting the MMDA to synchronize their efforts along with other government agencies to respond to simultaneous distress calls.

“We remain to be on a rescue mode.  Many have not been rescued on critical areas which are hardest affected of the monsoon rains, in Caloocan,  Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela, Marikina, Las Pinas, Quezon and Manila,” said Jimenez.

Land Transportation Office-National Capital Region (LTO-NCR) Director Teofilo Guadiz said the agency launched its own rescue mission for stranded motorists and submerged motor vehicles.

Data released by the NDRRMC showed the monsoon rains that pounded Metro Manila and Luzon starting Sunday night until Monday have affected 267,850 families or 1,230,813 people from 90 cities and towns in Metro Manila, Ilocos, Central Luzon, and the Calabarzon.

Of the total affected population, 53,850 families or 242,211 people were displaced. They are currently staying in 614 evacuation centers.

Based on the NDRRMC report, majority of the affected population numbering 813,666 were from 612 villages in Central Luzon, particularly in Pampanga, Bulacan, and Bataan.

In Metro Manila, floods in 102 villages displaced at least 68,372 people who are now crowded in various evacuation centers.

The NDRRMC report further indicated that as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, 126 roads were closed in Metro Manila and in regions 1, 3, 4-A, and the Cordillera region. At least 91 of the roads that have become impassable due to deep floods were in Metro Manila.

Ramos said most of the flooded sections in Metro Manila were in the poor districts, although there were also some subdivisions that were affected, particularly in Marikina City.

The heavy rains that drenched Metro Manila Sunday night until Monday flooded almost 50 percent of Metro Manila, Ramos said, who described the situation as “like a water world.”

Many slum dwellers, especially those in low-lying areas and along riverbanks were trapped at the rooftop of their houses as the floodwaters swelled.

The MMDA Flood Control and Monitoring Center reported severe flooding in Camanava, Quezon City, particularly in areas near the overflowing La Mesa Dam and Tullahan River, Marikina City, Pasay City, San Juan City, Pasig City, Parañaque, and Manila.

On Wednesday morning, Ramos joined Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in the conduct of an aerial inspection of the flood-hit areas.

He added that many parts of Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan and several areas in Rizal and eastern Metro Manila were submerged.

In Rizal, 10 people were injured when a passenger jeepney fell into a collapsed section of the Marcos Highway in Barangay San Jose in Antipolo City.

Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, director of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), said the road collapse in Antipolo City closed the Marcos Highway.

Espina said other impassable roads are Ortigas Avenue and Imelda Avenue in Cainta, and Highway 2000 in Taytay.

In Pangasinan, at least 20 barangays are still submerged in floodwater with 100 families still staying in evacuation centers, according to Supt. Jovencio Badua, spokesman, Ilocos regional police.

Badua said the hardest hit are the town of Calasiao and Dagupan City, with some roads still not passable to light vehicles.

In Batangas, 11 houses in Malvar town were damaged by floods.

In Central Luzon, a total of 380 barangays were affected by the flooding in the provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, according to the regional police office.

In Pampanga, two more people were added in the fatality list as they reportedly drowned at the height of the massive flooding in Lubao and Candaba towns.

Gine Nievares, hydrologist of the PAGASA, said four of the nine major dams in Luzon continue to release water.

She said the La Mesa Dam also continues to overflow with its water level at 80.36 meters, which is above its 80.15-meter spilling level, at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Globe Telecom, through its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility program – Globe Bridging Communities (Globe BridgeCom) – is conducting simultaneous relief operations in the following areas: Concepcion Integrated School, Concepcion, Marikina; Mother of Divine Providence Parish, Payatas, Quezon City; and Holy Trinity Parish, Fairview, Quezon City.

Employee-volunteers from Globe Telecom and partner-organizations will be distributing ready-to-eat food, canned goods, rice, assorted clothes and drinking water to an estimated 5,300 families temporarily seeking shelter at these evacuation centers.

Globe also maintained its Libreng Tawag operations in the following areas: Victory Liner bus stations in Cubao, Quezon City and Pasay City; Concepcion Integrated School, Concepcion, Marikina; and Bagong Silangan Elementary School, Bagong Silangan, Quezon City.

Affected residents can make free five-minute local calls to any network, send text messages to all networks or make a two-minute international call at the Globe Libreng Tawag facilities.

As of 11 a.m., August 8, 2012, Globe service in Metro Manila and outlying areas within Luzon are normal, save for isolated service interruptions in areas submerged in floodwaters or affected by loss of commercial power. Less than 1 percent of the Globe infrastructure in the Greater Manila Area was affected by flooding, as the company has implemented projects to boost network resiliency and redundancy.

Identified critical service areas still flooded include Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela, and Zambales. Globe is currently working at full service restoration in these areas.

Globe field engineers and network teams are on alert and have been working 24/7 to ensure subscribers get uninterrupted voice or data services. —with reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling, Anna Liza T. Villas, Kris Bayos, and Anthony Giron