A village in the town of San Marcelino remained isolated for the second day due to flooding, high water levels and strong currents at the Sta. Fe River and Sto. Tomas River due to the continuous raining from the Southwest Monsoon in the province of Zambales.

According to Mayor Elvis Ragadio Soria, some of the residents at the north side of the Sta. Fe River are also isolated after strong current from the river destroyed a bridge on 9 August, eliminating the primary access towards the said barangay.

The local government has conducted a scouting and assessment of the area along with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), and the Philippine National Police (PNP), to determine possible alternative access routes to deliver much needed assistance to the residents.

Based on the assessment of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), there are prepositioned relief goods for the barangay that is enough for the primary needs of the residents for four days.

The barangay currently has 55 families or 119 individuals who were affected by the flooding, particularly in low-lying areas of Sta. Fe. Currently, there are no active evacuation center in the said barangay.

As part of the contingency measures, response teams are evaluating the possibility to establish a zipline system once they enter the Sta. Fe proper that will be used to deliver relief packs.

This will also serve as an alternative way to safely deliver food, water, medicine, and other necessities of the residents living on the other side of the river.

“Patuloy ang monitoring, assessment at koordinasyon ng pamahalaang lokal at mga response team upang matiyak ang kaligtasan ng mga residente at agad na matugunan ang kanilang mga pangunahing pangangailangan habang nagpapatuloy ang epekto ng enhanced Habagat,” Mayor Soria said.