Several families in NCR, Rizal still staying at evacuation centers

While state weather forecasters claim the worst of the rains and floods from Tropical Storm Falcon (Meari) is over in Metro Manila, many residents in parts of the metropolis and nearby Rizal province remain huddled in evacuation centers Friday. In San Mateo (Rizal) and Marikina City, residents voluntarily left their homes Thursday night and stayed in evacuation centers, according to a report on GMA News TV's "News to Go." The residents said they did not want a repeat of what happened to them in 2009, when Tropical Cyclone Ondoy (Ketsana) dumped rains on Metro Manila. As of 11:30 p.m. Thursday, floods were waist-deep at the San Mateo Batasan Bridge, with residents using makeshift rafts to get from one place to another. Many of the residents at the evacuation center admitted feeling nervous over a potential repeat of Ondoy in 2009. Some of the residents even brought their pets to the evacuation centers.

Marikina River In Marikina City, 1,197 families near the Marikina River were brought to five evacuation centers, including elementary schools in Concepcion, Nangka, Hilario Bautista and Malanday. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council earlier said rains and floods from Falcon affected 32,118 families or 166,708 people. It said the 166,708 were from 132 barangays of 17 towns in Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Rizal, Albay and cities of Makati, Malabon, Manila, Marikina, Quezon City, Taguig and Valenzuela. Of the affected, 10,143 families or 48,712 people were evacuated to 23 evacuation centers in Albay, Rizal, Zambales and Metro Manila. — RSJ, GMA News