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 in other family members' homes instead of shelters, but their loss has been devastating nevertheless.

This dike was built after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which is just 10 or 20 miles up the road from Botolan, to divert the Bucao river after its course was altered by the eruption. The dike was built of only earth and rocks and was never reinforced with concrete so it seems to have been a disaster waiting to happen. When Kiko's water opened a 20 meter gap in it, Botolan was in trouble.

Paz's sister Marites says that when the flood came to my mother-in-law's house, Nanay didn't even have time to put sandals on her feet. Although she's in her mid-70's, she just ran out the door toward higher ground.

Now Paz's bother Ariel, her nephew Ryan, and their families are in Marites' house. Her brothers Jesse and Merwin and their families are staying in Marites' store, which is smaller than my two car garage. Nanay is with Paz's sister Annalyn. These houses are not roomy to begin with, and each family has several children. They've been going back to their houses to try to retrieve any belongings that aren't ruined, too, hoping to keep them from looters, so conditions in the houses they've taken refuge in are very crowded. It's been difficult to make and keep cell phone connections, but the when we've talked to Marites, the noise in the background makes it seem chaotic.

Roads into the area are still blocked by high water, so relief will be slow to come. When it does come, it may be limited. The NDCC, the Philippines' National Disaster Coordinating Council does what it can, I suppose, but it doesn't have the funding it needs. After a flood that affected over 100,000 people in another area earlier this summer, it looks like they spent about $300,000 to $400,000 on food and used clothing. The Zambales Red Cross chapter is said to be helping, but details are scarce.

Relief is certainly going to be needed, too. Nanay's house is actually one of the most solid in the area. It's two stories tall, made of cinder blocks with a galvanized steel roof. Some houses are wood frame, and a few are still made of nipa, lengths of bamboo stalks lashed together for the floor and walls, with a thatched roof. Still, they expect it to be necessary to abandon her house.

What is even more worrisome is the lack of food. The sacks of rice they had stored away are ruined. The rice that was growing in the fields is destroyed. The cattle were found drowned. It's possible, at least, that some of the chickens may have flown up into trees and been safe. The pig should be all right, anyway. When they went back they found it still within its pen, but swimming around!

Since relief will probably be too little, too slow, outside help is needed. Paz and I have always helped them out as we could, but this is far beyond what we can do alone. That's why we would like to ask for your help.

There is a ChipIn widget next to this post. You can use that if you would like to contribute a few dollars to this effort. We would really appreciate it.

edit: This post has been reworked, mainly to make it shorter.