Balanga City, Bataan Submerged Again by Heavy Rains; Science-Based Solutions to be Adopted for Disaster Response

BALANGA CITY, Bataan – Balanga City, Bataan’s component city, and its low-lying villages were once again inundated by massive floods following continuous rains from Monday afternoon until Tuesday morning. Although rains tapered off on Tuesday, Barangays Puerto Rivas, Sibacan, and the populous Tenejero were still under two to three feet of floodwaters as of posting time. Some portions of Roman Highway were under knee-high floodwaters but passable to all vehicles. In a consultation meeting of the Bataan provincial government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), high waters were traced to Dinalupihan town where a landslide had swept away nine houses. The DPWH and provincial engineers discovered that the landslide blanketed the small waterways, some of the rivers and a creek in Dinalupihan. The massive erosion had uprooted trees, and the resulting debris fell ended up in the Pita River. To curb Bataan flooding, the local government will tap experts to adopt science-based and nature-based solutions using hazard and terrain assessment, satellite data, drone and aerial surveys, as well as watershed rehabilitation and the restoration of waterways.