MALASIQUI, Aug. 18 -- A total of 501 families or 1,717 individuals in Pangasinan are staying in evacuation centers as of Tuesday morning, based on monitoring by the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

The evacuees are in Agno, Bani, Burgos, Mabini, Lingayen, Aguilar, Bugallon, Labrador, Binmalay, Mangatarem, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Alcala towns and the cities of Alaminos and Dagupan.

"Yesterday, we experienced heavy rains. The situation here in the province of Pangasinan is that our lands and rivers are silted. With the heavy rains, floodwaters in residential areas continue to rise," said Ron Maegan Equila, team leader of the PDRRMO emergency operations center, in a phone interview on Tuesday....