More than 1,700 families living in flood-prone areas in Metro Manila have been evacuated to safer grounds since Sunday as intermittent heavy rains spawned by the Southwest Monsoon continued in the National Capital Region (NCR) over the weekend after the havoc wrought by Typhoon “Gener” last week.
Office of the Civil Defense-National Capital Region (OCD-NCR) director Susan Cruz said  the affected families came from the cities of Marikina, Valenzuela and Quezon. They were evacuated to barangay halls, chapels and covered courts.
According to Cruz, 1,777 families of nearly 9,000 individuals were evacuated as part of the precautionary measures by the government in anticipation to possible flooding in low-lying areas in the NCR.
In Marikina City, Cruz said, 873 families comprising 4,098 people were evacuated after the water level at the Marikina River increased due to continuous heavy rains on Sunday.
In nearby Pasig City, the OCD-NCR director said, the yellow alert level was raised due to the rise of water level in Marikina River.
“All disaster risk reduction and management council members were advised (to be on) heightened alert and all barangays near (the) Marikina River and Floodway were advised to monitor their areas closely,” Cruz said.
In Valenzuela City, at least 75 families from three barangays were also moved to safer grounds.
The local disaster response teams in Quezon City started pre-emptive evacuation before midnight Sunday due to the risk of flooding as major dams in Luzon, including La Mesa, continued to register increasing water levels.
More or less 840 families from Quezon City have been transferred to barangay halls, chapels and covered courts.
As of press time yesterday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams continued to release  excess water while La Mesa Dam is has reached its spilling level.
Water releases from La Mesa Dam could affect low-lying areas in the NCR, particularly Quezon City.
Relatedly, latest NDRRMC reports showed that the death toll from Typhoon “Gener” rose to 49 yesterday with three more people confirmed dead.
The NDRRMC also reported that damage to properties and infrastructure was pegged at P339,806,796.20 with destruction to agricultural products placed at P214,799,410.20.
A total of 193,682 families composed of 867,799 individuals have been affected by floods and landslides brought about by the typhoon in 13 regions in the country.