Relentless rains driven by the southwest monsoon (habagat) swamped parts of Quezon City and Zambales on Saturday, causing riverways to spill over and forcing disaster officials to move vulnerable families away from rising waters and landslide-prone slopes.
In Quezon City, swollen rivers rapidly submerged nearby neighborhoods. Water levels reached head-deep along E. Rodriguez Avenue near the river in Barangay Tatalon, while waist-deep flooding inundated West Riverside and Valencia Streets in Barangay Del Monte, as well as Kapiligan Street in Barangay Doña Imelda. Local authorities reported that at least 12 families have been moved to emergency shelters across the city.
Similar scenes played out across Zambales, where the Sta. Fe River in San Marcelino burst its banks, surging over a local bridge and flooding grounds at Sta. Fe National High School. Earlier in Candelaria town, responders rescued seven families stranded by waist-deep waters in Sitio Tagor, Barangay Malabon.
Ground movement risks also prompted emergency measures. In Castillejos, Zambales, seven families were evacuated from Barangay Balaybay due to impending landslide threats.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said the residents were moved to safer areas as a precaution against possible slope failures caused by prolonged rainfall.
Further south in Olongapo City, emergency crews are maintaining a close watch on river channels near the Del Rosario, Sta. Rita and Kalaklan Bridges as persistent downpours keep water levels dangerously elevated.
Disaster management agencies continue to urge communities in low-lying and mountainous zones to stay alert, track weather bulletins and heed evacuation instructions promptly while the monsoon persists over Luzon.