Forced evacuation as Marikina River continues to rise

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Forced evacuation of residents living near the Marikina River is now in effect as the river’s water level continued to rise on Tuesday, August 7.

The river’s flood level is now at “critical,” with the water level reaching 20.0 meters at the Marikina Bridge gauge at Bgy Sto Niño as of 10:32 am.

Evacuees are now at 11 evacuation centers across the city, according to the Marikina City Public Information Office:

• Concepcion Integrated School – 167 families/835 persons
• Bulelak Gym – 162 families/816 persons
• H. Bautista Elementary School – 675 families/3,393 persons
• Malanday Elementary School – 401 families/2,285 persons
• Concepcion Elementary School – 12 families/72 persons
• Sta. Elena Chapel (Lambak) – 5 families/25 persons
• Nangka Elementary School – 469 families/2,384 persons
• Filipinas Village Gym – 84 families/581 persons
• Sampaguita Gym- 95 families/491 persons
• Sto. Niño Elem Sch – 170 families
• Leodegario Victorino Elem Sch – 95 families/413 persons

The state weather bureau Pagasa has raised another Red Warning Signal for the National Capital Region as of 9 am Tuesday, with heavy to intense rainfall (15 to 30 millimeters per hour) for the next 2 hours.

Rainfall will also be occasionally torrential, or more than 30 mm/h, during the said period.

This comes as Metro Manila recorded high rainfall amounts overnight due to non-stop rain.

As of 6 am Tuesday, August 7, the state weather bureau Pagasa recorded at least 154 millimeters of rain accumulated in 9 hours at their Manila Port Area station. During the same time period, their observation post at the Science Garden in Quezon City had measured 222.6 mm of rain.

Meanwhile, in the 30-hour period beginning Monday midnight, August 6, up to 6:45 am Tuesday, more than 300 mm of rain have accumulated at the Advanced Science & Technology Institute’s rain gauge, according to Dr Mahar Lagmay of Project NOAH.

During Ondoy, the Pagasa Science Garden measured 341 mm of rain in a span of 6 hours, the bureau said.

The southwest monsoon has been continuously bringing rain over parts of Luzon for 9 days.

More rain is expected during the day, as the southwest monsoon is still prevailing over Luzon and western Visayas, according to Pagasa.

The rest of Visayas and Mindanao, meanwhile, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated to scattered rain or thunderstorms. – Rappler.com

For more weather updates, visit the #WeatherAlert Microsite.

Everyone is encouraged to help out. Check this list of evacuation centers and relief operations in Metro Manila for places near you. 

More in #WeatherAlert:

• PHOTOS: PH capital, nearby cities at a standstill in floods
• Filipino values emerge in deluge
• 4 areas in Luzon under state of calamity
• Flooding in Laguna may last 2 months – DPWH
• Southwest monsoon causing heavy rain over Luzon
• 20,000 displaced in Metro Manila floods