Flooding still being experienced in a portion of NLEX in San Simon, Pampanga
Flooding still being experienced in a portion of NLEX in San Simon, Pampanga
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00:00 A good part of the Enlex freeway runs through towns and cities of Bulacan and Pampanga that
00:05 go underwater during heavy rainfall.
00:07 Just like this juncture of the northbound expressway in San Simon and right after the
00:11 Pulilan exit that has motorists helplessly stranded for hours on end this week over incessant
00:17 rains and flooding that just won't quit.
00:20 A siphoning and sandbagging combo by Enlex Tollways Management will bring temporary relief
00:26 but a long-term plan is much more welcome as we hear more from Patrick De Jesus.
00:33 Flooding under the Tulaok Overpass in Enlex portion of San Simon, Pampanga has not receded
00:39 for almost a week now and motorists have to endure a traffic at a crawl on both the northbound
00:47 and southbound lanes.
00:48 "It's been 4-5 hours on this road, Enlex.
00:49 It's a big burden, sir.
00:57 Instead of us going home early in the morning, our time here is running out, sir.
00:58 I hope they will find a way to do something about the flooding."
01:01 The management of Enlex has started piling up 10,000 sandbags to keep the rising waters
01:07 off.
01:08 But this is only a temporary solution.
01:11 "Last night, our train icon couldn't handle it because our sandbags are not yet fortified.
01:18 There are still parts that are being flooded with strong water.
01:23 It's just going on.
01:24 The water level is going down but the water return is fast.
01:31 That's what we are fixing now.
01:33 We are ensuring that if there is a return of water to our outputs, it will not be that
01:39 big.
01:40 In that sense, we will lower the water level in the carriageway."
01:46 Enlex management will coordinate with the provincial governments of Pampanga and Bulacan
01:52 for a long-term plan, particularly in addressing the overflow of the Pampanga River, which
01:58 spins over during a heavy downpour and the main cause of flooding.
02:03 "The long-term solution to this flood is clearing the waterways of the whole area, including
02:18 here in Pampanga and Bulacan.
02:21 The main cause of the flood in San Simon, we experienced it recently, it was this high.
02:29 It was just next to the outermost area but in less than two hours, it was gone."
02:36 Upon entering San Simon, many roads are still flooded, like Quezon Road that has turned
02:42 into a river or pond.
02:44 Some motorists are braving the floods just to cross the road.
02:49 In Bulacan, many areas are also still submerged in water.
02:54 In Barangay San Agustin in Hagonoy Town, a school serving as evacuation center is still
03:00 not completely safe with flooding in certain areas.
03:04 Some classrooms cannot be occupied, crowding available rooms with evacuees.
03:09 "We cannot use the classrooms because the flood is reaching the first floor.
03:16 When the flood reached the second floor, there was a wall that was broken.
03:26 The people on the second floor are afraid to occupy the upper part of the evacuation center
03:30 of the school."
03:31 "But you have already declared a lift."
03:32 "Yes, we have already lifted the evacuation center on the second floor."
03:39 The Bulacan PDRRMO estimates half a billion pesos worth of damage in infrastructure from
03:46 continuous flooding.