OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines — Water levels beneath three major bridges in Olongapo City climbed again Tuesday morning, August 25, renewing concerns over flooding after days of relentless southwest monsoon rains repeatedly pushed waterways toward dangerous levels.
City monitoring data showed that as of 8:47 a.m. Tuesday, the water beneath Sta. Rita Bridge had risen to 2.5 meters, putting it at the city’s critical level.
Meanwhile, Del Rosario Bridge registered 2.3 meters and Kalaklan Bridge reached 2.2 meters, with both classified at warning level.
The renewed rise came only hours after water levels had temporarily receded from significantly more dangerous readings recorded Monday afternoon.
At around 4:50 p.m. Monday, August 24, Sta. Rita Bridge had reached 3 meters — the evacuation threshold — while Del Rosario and Kalaklan bridges were already at critical levels.
Although the waters later dropped, continued rainfall combined with changing tide conditions pushed levels upward again Tuesday morning, underscoring how quickly conditions can shift in flood-prone sections of Olongapo.
PAGASA Raises Yellow Rainfall Warning
The latest increase coincided with another rainfall warning from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, PAGASA placed Zambales and parts of Bataan — including Dinalupihan, Hermosa and Morong — under a yellow rainfall warning.
The weather bureau forecast around 7.5 to 15 millimeters of rainfall within three hours, warning that flooding remained possible in vulnerable and low-lying areas.
The southwest monsoon, or habagat, continues to affect much of Luzon.
The Philippine News Agency, citing PAGASA, reported Tuesday that Metro Manila, Central Luzon, the Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Cavite, Batangas and Rizal could experience scattered rain and thunderstorms.
Moderate to heavy rainfall could trigger flash floods and landslides, especially in locations already saturated by previous rounds of rain.
Olongapo Has Been Hit Repeatedly This August
Tuesday’s warning is not an isolated incident.
Olongapo has endured repeated episodes of severe rainfall and flooding throughout August.
Earlier this month, city disaster officials recorded an extraordinary 741 millimeters of rain at the Kalaklan monitoring station from August 5 to August 10 — approximately 85 percent of the city’s expected rainfall for the entire month of August in only six days.
During that period, water levels beneath the Del Rosario, Sta. Rita and Kalaklan bridges all reached 4 meters, classified as spilling level.
Hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes as streets and communities flooded.
Another major episode unfolded on August 17, when the three monitored bridges again reached the 4-meter spilling level following intense habagat rainfall.
By the following day, more than 1,000 residents from over 300 families had been moved to evacuation centers across Olongapo.
Among the hardest-hit areas were Sta. Rita, New Kababae, New Ilalim, Mabayuan, Old Cabalan, Kalaklan, Gordon Heights, West Tapinac and West Bajac-Bajac.
Why Water Levels Can Rise So Quickly
Olongapo’s latest flooding threat highlights a dangerous combination familiar to many coastal and river communities: sustained rainfall, already saturated soil and changing tides.
Even when rainfall temporarily eases, runoff from surrounding areas may continue flowing into rivers and drainage channels.
High-tide conditions can also slow the movement of floodwater toward the sea, allowing water to accumulate more rapidly upstream.
That means a short-term drop in bridge monitoring levels does not necessarily signal that the danger has ended.
Recent rainfall history makes that especially important.
GMA News reported earlier in August that Olongapo and nearby parts of Zambales had already been placed under orange rainfall warnings, where flooding was considered threatening. Other portions of the province were placed under even higher rainfall alerts during earlier habagat episodes.
The Threat Is Now Cumulative
The bigger concern is no longer simply how much rain falls during one storm.
Repeated heavy rainfall can leave river systems, drainage networks and soil with less capacity to absorb another downpour.
That makes communities vulnerable even when subsequent rainfall is weaker than earlier storms.
PAGASA’s Tuesday forecast warned that moderate to heavy rain associated with the southwest monsoon could still produce flash floods or landslides across parts of Luzon.
Authorities in Olongapo therefore continued monitoring the three bridges and other flood-prone communities as conditions remained unstable.
Residents living close to rivers, creeks, slopes and historically flooded neighborhoods are being urged to follow official advisories and prepare to move quickly should water levels approach evacuation or spilling thresholds again.
For Olongapo, the most important number may not be the current bridge reading.
It is how much more rain the already waterlogged city can absorb before those levels climb again.
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