MULTIMEDIA
Enduring weeks of flood in Pampanga
Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Aug 08 2023 07:35 PM | Updated as of Aug 08 2023 07:43 PM
Dealing with flood water and the high tide is nothing new for workers and patients of the Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga.
However, the recent incessant rain brought flood waters higher than the usual -- so much so that they had to put sandbags around the area in a failed bid to arrest the flow of water.
Hospital workers and patients had to adjust with water inside the facility reaching more than a foot high during the height of the floods. This is the first time flood water entered the premises, they say.
The hospital, the most accessible of all health facilities in District 4, caters to patients from as far as Calumpit and Hagonoy, Bulacan. However, the number of patients have dwindled since the floods, dropping from the usual of 60 patients a day, to 15 as it remains inundated.
Just outside the hospital compound lie more sandbags part of efforts to keep the flooding at bay. Residents attribute the unabated flooding to the consecutive typhoons- Egay and Falcon, which enhanced the southwest monsoon, bringing with it days of heavy rains. This caused massive flooding in Pampanga and Bulacan, exacerbated by the release of water from Bustos and Ipo Dams respectively.
Barangay Batasan, one of the lowest lying areas in Pampanga, experienced the worst flooding in the province this year. More than three weeks after typhoon Egay hit Luzon, the community remains inundated, with residents trying to cope with the situation.
Residents had to endure the massive flooding after Pampanga River overflowed affecting adjacent municipalities like San Simon, Apalit, Masantol and Macabebe as water emptied to Manila Bay.
A State of Calamity had been declared in San Simon and Macabebe where 14 barangays remain inundated. The adjacent towns of Bulacan have not fared better, with some homes still submerged in chest deep flood waters
For some, it might take months for people and businesses to recover from such devastation.
The vicinity of the Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga remain flooded on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The vicinity of the Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga remain flooded on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The vicinity of the Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga remain flooded on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Patients queue at the entrance of Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga as its vicinity remains flooded on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The number of patients at the Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga dropped from 60 to 15 per day as the hospital remains inundated. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Patients and health workers had to deal with the prolonged flooding at the Mayor Domingo B. Flores District Hospital in Macabebe, Pampanga. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Residents try to cope with the flood situation in Barangay Batasan, Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Heavy rains brought by typhoon Egay and Falcon as well as the enhance southwest monsoon caused many parts of Pampanga and Bulacan flooded for 3 weeks. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Men navigate a flooded road to deliver drinking water in Barangay Batasan, Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Residents try to cope with the flood situation in Barangay Batasan, Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
Residents try to cope with the flood situation in Barangay Batasan, Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The Presentation of the Lord Parish remains inundated with water as residents try to cope with the situation in Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The Presentation of the Lord Parish remains inundated with water as residents try to cope with the situation in Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The Presentation of the Lord Parish remains inundated with flood in Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
The Presentation of the Lord Parish remains inundated with flood in Macabebe, Pampanga on August 8, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News