Flood Damage Tops P2B in Olongapo

Olongapo City-  Mayor Rolen Paulino  said on Saturday that  damage to both private and public properties by the recent floods in the city could reach P 2.1 billion.

Paulino said residential, business, infrastructure, private and government facilities were hit hard in the calamity.

“We are now in a stage of massive clearing and relief operations,” Paulino said.

The city suffered the worst flooding in recent history because of nonstop rains brought by the monsoon. Floodwaters reached more than 10 feet deep in some areas of the city.

Paulino added that a team from the 3rd US Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which includes a doctor, an engineer and a logistics officer, has been going around the city in preparation for deployment of US troops for the clearing operations.

“They will help us clear the mud in the affected schools so that classes can resume immediately,” Paulino said, “Ninety (90) percent or 16 out of the city’s 17 barangays were submerged in flood waters.”

Paulino cut short his trip in Virginia Beach, Virginia US to seek prospective investors and came back to the country  immediately after learning of the situation. He left behind Councilor Jong Cortez to conclude the business of the official trip.

“I was in constant contact with our City Administrator and other officials when I was in the US, so by the by the time the floods hit I already had a ticket home,” Paulino said.

Despite the massive floods, however, there was only one fatality, identified as Hilda Escobar of Barangay Sta. Rita. She was swept away while trying to escape rising floodwaters that swamped her house quickly in the wee hours of Monday morning. Her husband, also carried away by strong currents, survived after rescuers found him three hours later clinging to a log almost a kilometer away.