Some Marikina residents return home amid steady downpour

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Mayor Teodoro advises the public to refrain from returning home yet if they live in low-lying areas

MANILA, Philippines – Some Marikina residents are returning home on Tuesday, July 22, pulling out from evacuation centers after the alarm level in the city retreated to first alarm.

As of 3:10 pm, the number of evacuees across the city dropped to 20,000 from a peak of 23,610 at 9:30 am on Tuesday.

“Mas kumonti na ‘yung mga individuals na nasa evacuation centers dahil unti-unti na rin silang bumabalik sa kanilang mga tahanan,” Marikina Mayor Maan Teodoro told Rappler on Tuesday.

“Lalo na ‘yung mga head of the families, binabalikan na nila ‘yung kanilang tirahan, nag-che-check na rin kung ano ‘yung kalagayan siguro.”

(The number of individuals in evacuation centers dropped because they were going back to their homes. Especially the head of the families, they were returning to their houses to check the situation.)

Teodoro was visiting Malanday Elementary School, her fourth evacuation site visit for the day. The mayor said they cannot force people to stay in evacuation centers and it is understandable that people will opt to return to their houses if flooding has subsided.

EVACUEES. More than 3,000 residents have evacuated at Malanday Elementary School on Tuesday, July 22. Photo by Leone Requilman/Rappler

Joan Saga, 40, said her husband is busy cleaning their house at Purok 6 in Malanday as they are preparing to go home within the day.

Saga and her family evacuated at Malanday Elementary School amid heavy rains caused by the southwest monsoon.

She said this was where her family evacuated same time last year, just a few days late, when Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon brought rain and massive flooding in parts of Luzon.

Evacuees temporarily settled down inside blue tents aligned in rows at the basketball court. Meanwhile, others who opt to go home were seen leaving the site with their belongings such as beddings, electric fans, and even their pet dogs.

As of 4 pm, Marikina River water level was down to 15.2 meters. It peaked at 18.6 meters at 2 am on Tuesday, placing the city then under third alarm. Flooding in Saga’s residence, and other areas in Malanday as well, has since subsided as the day went.

In another evacuation site, at Sto. Niño Elementary School, the number of evacuees decreased from 1,789 individuals this morning down to 1,682.

Maria Rose Yvonne Aracan, 32, was waiting for her husband at the school’s basketball court before going home. Her bags were on an armchair in front of her. She said the flood in their area had receded since they evacuated at Sto. Niño at 12 midnight.

“May trabaho pa po bukas eh,” Aracan said. (There’s still work tomorrow.) She sells street food in Cubao, near the light rail transit Anonas station and St. Joseph Shrine. Aracan said they will clean the house as soon as her husband came back from work at 5 pm.)

Mayor Teodoro advised the public to take caution as the state bureau continues to monitor the inclement weather.

“Kaya dapat tayo ay maging maingat pa rin,” Teodoro said. “Huwag tayong magpalagay-lagay na umuwi na kung sa tingin natin nasa low-lying areas tayo.”

(That’s why we have to still be careful. Let’s not return to our homes if we’re in low-lying areas.) – Rappler.com