Ondoy-like floods trap thousands

Rescuers raise a guard house barrier as they ferry families from the flooded Estrella Heights Subdivision in Rodriguez

- NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS

With thousands trapped on rooftops by fast-rising flood similar to the one unleashed by Tropical Storm Ondoy, local leaders in Marikina and Rizal yesterday cried for more help from the national government as the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses “overwhelmed” disaster response teams.

In Marikina, over 40,000 houses became submerged after Marikina River’s water level rose to as high as 22 meters by 11 a.m., which was higher than the 21.5-meter level recorded in September 2009 when Ondoy inundated Metro Manila. The river’s water level, however, dipped to 18.9 meters by early evening.

Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said the city’s 50 rubber boats were not enough to respond to calls for help from residents stuck on rooftops – many of whom were already suffering from hypothermia due to long exposure to rain and strong winds for hours.

“Air rescue is needed because our residents are on their roofs now,” Teodoro said in a radio interview. “We are lacking so much and our residents are terrified. Others have suffered hypothermia because of being soaked overnight.”

City government figures provided by the mayor said the flood touched the rooflines of some 30,000 houses in Barangay Nangka, 8,000 in Barangay Tumana and 5,000 to 6,000 in Barangay Malanday.

“The height of the flood exceeds the first floor of a house… So many months or years that we haven’t experienced this kind of flooding that’s why everyone was surprised,” he said in Filipino.