ABS-CBN News

Posted at Aug 01 2023 03:54 PM

MANILA — Bulacan has declared a state of calamity due to the widespread floods that hit nearly the entire province, Governor Daniel Fernando said on Tuesday.

Since last week, the storm-enhanced southwest monsoon or habagat has dumped rain over the vast swaths of the Philippines, including Bulacan, which is home to some 3.7 million people. According to authorities, areas in Bulacan that have not experienced flooding in the past were impacted by the floods caused by the habagat.

The state of calamity declaration — which is expected to trigger the release of calamity funds — was upon the recommendation of the province’s disaster council, Fernando said.

Some 228,648 families from 171 barangays have been affected by the massive floods, the governor said, citing the province’s disaster office. He added that 21,367 individuals or 5,631 families were forced to flee their homes due to the flooding.

Based on initial assessment, the extensive flooding in the province brought damage to infrastructure worth P500 million. Meanwhile, the preliminary cost of agricultural damage was pegged at P93.023 million, while P7.677 million worth of livelihood was so far lost to the calamity.

As of Tuesday, some 2.4 million Filipinos nationwide were affected by storm Egay and the habagat, with thousands still in evacuation centers, according to the disaster monitoring council.

SOURCE: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/01/23/bulacan-declares-state-of-calamity-due-to-massive-floods