Up to 149 barangays in Bulacan remained flooded as of noon yesterday due to high tide in Manila Bay and occasional heavy downpours.
Provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Manuel Lukban Jr. said that floodwaters in the villages of Meysulao in Calumpit and San Vicente in San Miguel rose to as high as one foot to six feet.
Malolos recorded the highest number of flooded barangays with 32 followed by Calumpit with 28, Hagonoy with 25, San Miguel with 16 and Paombong with 14.
The town of Angat reported nine flooded barangays; Bocaue and Guiguinto, seven each; Pulilan and Balagtas, four each, and Marilao, three.
Floodwaters coming from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija flow toward Bulacan before draining in Manila Bay.
Displaced residents are staying in 162 evacuation centers in the province.
Dams’ elevations improve
Most dams being closely monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration have recorded an increase in their elevations while three released water.
The water level in Angat Dam has significantly improved, rising near its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
As of 2 p.m. yesterday, Angat’s elevation was 175.6 meters.
Angat supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water and provides irrigation water to palay farms in Central Luzon.
Meanwhile, Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet reduced their water levels by four and 18 centimeters, respectively, yesterday morning.
Ipo Dam in Bulacan opened its spillway gate, but its elevation remained higher by four centimeters than its normal high-water level.
Operators of La Mesa Dam discharged water after the elevation rose above the reservoir’s normal high-water level of 80.15 meters, to 80.17.
Meanwhile, elevations in other dams have improved, with San Roque in Pangasinan logging the highest increase with 5.57 meters.
However, San Roque’s elevation at 260.34 meters was still below its normal high-water level of 280 meters.
Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija and Magat in Isabela both reported increased elevations by approximately one and two meters or from 182.22 to 183.11 meters, and from 174.34 to 176.35 meters, respectively.
The water level in Caliraya Dam in Laguna dropped from 287.18 to 286.93 meters.