Days of continuous heavy rainfall triggered by the southwest monsoon (Habagat) caused severe flooding and widespread soil erosion across Olongapo City, overtopping local rivers and leaving major thoroughfares impassable.
The floodwaters began rising rapidly on Friday afternoon, August 28. Commuters leaving the Subic Bay Freeport Zone around 1:30 p.m. were caught off guard as streets inundated, leaving workers stranded throughout the commercial corridor.
In response, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) deployed heavy trucks across key corridors to shuttle stranded workers and residents to transport terminals and emergency pickup locations.
Persistent downpours caused rivers to overflow, submerging bridges in Barangays Sta. Rita and Del Rosario. Spillover from these waterways pushed muddy floodwaters into low-lying residential neighborhoods, inundating homes in West Bajac Bajac, East Bajac Bajac, Kalaklan, Sta. Rita and Mabayuan.
Simultaneously, saturated hillsides triggered several instances of soil erosion across multiple barangays. In Barangay Kalaklan, a mudslide dumped rock debris onto the main highway connecting Olongapo City to Zambales, severely disrupting regional traffic flow.
In Barangay Mabayuan, rapid flood elevation and swift-moving currents trapped multiple families inside their residences. The local Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (BDRRMO) launched emergency water rescues to evacuate trapped occupants.
Navigating strong currents, rescue teams waded through deep, murky floodwaters to extract affected families along with their household pets, transporting them to safe ground as monitoring of vulnerable slope areas and river basins continues.