Botolan Flooding
Botolan , Zambales, Philippines, the town my wife Paz grew up in, is underwater, and we need your help. Thursday a dike weakened by Typhoon Kiko failed , releasing a flood of muddy water that quickly covered her baranagay (like a neighborhood or ward), San Juan, and several others in Botolan. According to one news article In Botolan, Zambales, more than 1,000 residents were marooned on their roofs on Thursday night after rainwater and mud from the slopes of Pinatubo breached a kilometer-long segment of the Bucao Dike, flooding at least 10 barangays. The floodwater rose to more than 5 feet (1.5 meters), forcing at least 1,000 families to flee to their roofs...By 3 p.m. Friday, 1,548 families had been taken to a gymnasium at the Botolan town proper, while at least 200 families were taken to elementary schools in Porac and Bucao. So far the estimate of the number of people affected is 73,000 and and the death toll is up to 23 . All of Paz's family are safe and dry, thank God, and i...