More than 14,000 residents in this province have fled their homes due to widespread flooding brought by persistent heavy rains, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) on Sunday, Aug. 30.
A total of 710 families or 14,052 individuals have been evacuated, with 552 families or 10,242 individuals staying in various evacuation centers across the province. The rest have sought shelter elsewhere.
Out of 13 towns in the municipality, Botolan had the highest number of evacuees staying in evacuation centers, with 1,310 families or 3,491 individuals, followed by neighboring Cabangan with 695 families or 1,938 individuals.
Some residents were preemptively advised to move to evacuation centers as the province experienced non-stop heavy rains, while others were forced to leave their homes as floodwaters rose in their communities.
In its 5 a.m. advisory on Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) maintained its heavy rainfall outlook for Zambales, with 100 to 200 millimeters of rain expected through Tuesday, Sept. 1.
Pagasa was also monitoring a low-pressure area (LPA) inside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), which had a ‘high’ chance of developing into a tropical depression on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Tropical Depression ‘Saudel’ (formerly ‘Obet’) was being monitored outside the PAR.