Manila, Aug. 31 -- Initial inspections in areas affected by the torrential rains caused by the southwest monsoon (habagat) showed that Pampanga is the hardest-hit province so far, a ranking Office of Civil Defense (OCD) official said Monday.

OCD Deputy Administrator for Administration Assisstant Secretary Bernado Rafaelito Alejandro IV, in an online briefing, said they conducted aerial inspections on the affected areas, the latest of which is Monday morning, and saw that flood waters remain high at the municipality of San Simon and in most parts of the Pampanga.

He said 330 villages in 20 local governments in Pampanga are still flooded.

Thus, the request by Gov. Lilia Pineda and disaster response officials for the national government ...