30/08/2026
OVER 1 MILLION HIT AS 4 WEATHER SYSTEMS, MONSOON TRIGGER MASSIVE FLOODING IN PAMPANGA
By Mark Sison
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — More than one million residents across all 20 municipalities and the capital city of Pampanga have been affected by flooding triggered by the combined effects of four tropical depressions and an enhanced Southwest Monsoon.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), in Situational Report No. 79 submitted to Governor Lilia Nanay Pineda and signed by PDRRM Officer Janica Mikhail Yambao, placed the cumulative number of affected families across the province at 326,907, or 1,047,664 persons, spread across 401 barangays, as of 8 p.m. Sunday, August 30.
The report covers the compounded impact of Tropical Depressions “Luis,” “Maymay,” “Neneng,” and “Pilandok,” which PAGASA said has kept the region under near-continuous rains since early August.
Weather Outlook
In its 5 p.m. bulletin Sunday, PAGASA said Tropical Depression Pilandok was moving northwestward slowly over the sea east of extreme Northern Luzon, its center estimated 1,180 kilometers east of the area as of 4 p.m., with maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 55 kph.
The weather bureau said Pilandok is less likely to make landfall in the country and is forecast to weaken into a remnant low south of Japan by Tuesday, September 1.
Despite the system remaining offshore, PAGASA warned the enhanced Southwest Monsoon would continue bringing strong to gale-force winds over most of Luzon and Visayas through Tuesday, with Pampanga itself experiencing cloudy skies and occasional moderate to heavy rains across all 20 municipalities and the capital.
Widespread Flooding
PDRRMO recorded 334 flooded barangays across the province’s 20 towns, with floodwaters ranging from under a foot in some areas to as deep as 10 feet in the worst-hit sections. Guagua logged the highest number of affected residents among individual towns, with 30 barangays and 93,204 persons hit, followed by Candaba with 32 barangays and 89,976 persons, Macabebe with 25 barangays and 85,314 persons, San Simon with 16 barangays and 81,118 persons, and Apalit with 12 barangays and 68,387 persons.
Among the hardest-hit barangays was San Agustin in Candaba, where floodwaters reached three to 10 feet due to continuous rainfall. In Bacolor’s Barangay Tinajero, water rose to two to seven feet as the Cabetican and Parulog creeks overflowed, while several barangays in San Simon, including Dela Paz and San Pedro, reported flooding as deep as four to five feet from the swollen Pampanga River.
Coastal and riverside towns Guagua, Lubao, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sasmuan reported flooding compounded by high tide on top of continuous rain, and in Lubao’s Barangay Sto. Cristo, the Sto. Cristo-Sta. Rita Dam overflowed, submerging the area under three to five feet of water. The Pampanga River Basin’s monitoring stations showed several rivers approaching alert thresholds as of 5 p.m., including the Arayat station at 8.23 meters nearing its 8.5-meter critical mark and Candaba at 5.75 meters, close to its 5-meter alarm level.
Evacuation
A total of 4,622 families, or 17,300 persons, remained inside 278 evacuation centers across the province as of the report, while another 2,610 families, or 11,671 persons, had sought shelter outside formal centers, mostly in Bacolor, which alone accounted for 2,408 families sheltering with relatives or in other locations.
Evacuation dates ranged from as early as August 8 in Bacolor’s Barangay Tinajero to fresh evacuations carried out on August 30 in Mabalacat, Magalang, Sta. Rita, Arayat, and other towns as floodwaters continued to rise.
Damage to Homes and Infrastructure
The PSWDO reported 18 totally damaged houses and 65 partially damaged houses province-wide, concentrated in Porac, Candaba, San Luis, San Simon, Magalang, Mexico, and Apalit, though the office flagged the figures as still subject to validation.
Infrastructure damage was extensive. In Minalin, a 100-meter concrete slope protection along a fishpond collapsed, with damage estimated at ₱200 million, while a tail d**e breach near Barangay Sta. Catalina remained under assessment. San Luis reported a damaged d**e and road in Barangay Sta. Rita valued at ₱100 million, and Macabebe reported ₱100 million in damage to its Candelaria riverside d**e. Guagua logged roughly ₱95 million in damaged slope protections and irrigation lines across multiple barangays, while Floridablanca reported dozens of damaged slope protections, retaining walls, and wing walls collectively exceeding ₱100 million.
Local government units and the Provincial Engineer’s Office responded with sandbagging, filling materials, and temporary barricades at the affected sites, with several projects still awaiting formal engineering assessment.
Agriculture Losses
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, in a report as of August 28, placed total agricultural losses at ₱1.25 billion, affecting 40,182 farmers and fisherfolk. Fisheries bore the heaviest losses at ₱786.9 million affecting 9,917 fish farmers, led by Sta. Ana at ₱204.4 million and Minalin at ₱231.1 million. Rice losses totaled ₱295.1 million across 26,195 farmers, with Candaba alone accounting for ₱133.9 million. High-value crops, corn, and cassava added a further ₱157.5 million in combined losses.
The Provincial Veterinary Office separately reported ₱13.2 million in livestock and poultry housing losses and ₱9 million in egg-drop losses, concentrated in Masantol, Candaba, and Apalit.
Roads, Power, and Lifelines
Multiple national and barangay roads remained impassable to light vehicles as of the report, including sections in San Simon, Minalin, Sto. Tomas, Candaba, Lubao, San Luis, Apalit, and Mexico, with some barangay roads in San Simon reported impassable to any kind of vehicle. Rolling power interruptions hit barangays in San Fernando City, Apalit, San Simon, Bacolor, Guagua, Masantol, Minalin, Mexico, Sto. Tomas, and Porac beginning as early as August 9, with some areas including parts of Minalin and San Fernando City still without restored power as of August 30 after utility PELCO III opted to de-energize lines due to rising floodwaters.
Classes and government work in the City of San Fernando shifted to alternative delivery mode on August 29.
State of Calamity
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Pampanga placed the entire province under a state of calamity through Resolution No. 06, Series of 2026, effective August 12.
Government Response
PDRRMO Pampanga said its Emergency Operations Center and Command and Control Center at the PEO Compound in Sindalan, San Fernando City, has remained activated round the clock since early August under Blue Alert status, coordinating relief operations, sandbagging supplies, water rescue deployments, and patient transport for dialysis centers in Apalit and Macabebe. As of August 30, government agencies and local government units had extended a combined ₱178.9 million in relief assistance.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development provided the bulk of this at ₱146.7 million in family food packs distributed across all affected towns, while the provincial government contributed ₱1.28 million and municipal LGUs a further ₱14 million.
Barangay-level assistance added ₱4.66 million, non-government organizations and other government offices contributed ₱6.8 million, and DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program provided ₱5.43 million in cash aid to 543 beneficiaries in Bacolor.
On August 30 alone, PDRRMO said it conducted rescue and evacuation operations in Minalin and San Fernando City, distributed a combined 20,300 empty sacks to Sto. Tomas and Lubao for sandbagging, provided additional sandbags for tail d**e operations in Minalin, and coordinated with the Office of Civil Defense Region III for the deployment of rubber boats and army trucks across the province.
Evacuation centers in Lubao, Porac, and Mexico remained open and under continuous management. PDRRMO said it will continue monitoring conditions and coordinating with the province’s 21 local disaster risk reduction and management councils as rains persist under the enhanced Southwest Monsoon.
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