PHILIPPINE DROUGHT SHAKES 300-YEAR-OLD SUBMERGED VILLAGE OUT OF DEPTHS

Thu 02 May 2024:

Remnants of the centuries-old town of Pantabangan reemerged in the northern Philippines after a dam’s water level dropped Photograph:(AFP)

Village rises from the deep: Sunken Philippines ruins reappear as drought causes reservoir to dry up for only the sixth time since the settlement was flooded in the 1970s

Source: MailOnline pic.twitter.com/2OLSzxPuQW

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) May 2, 2024

A prolonged drought prompted a rural village in the northern Philippines, which is about 300 years old, to emerge after it was drowned by a dam in the 1970s.

A chapel and gravestones were among the areas of the town that were exposed as the waters of the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija receded.

The settlement has returned six times since the dam’s construction, with the water levels now approximately 50 meters below average.

“This is the longest time (it was visible) based on my experience,” Paladin told news agency AFP.

Half of the provinces in the Philippines, including Nueva Ecija, are officially facing drought conditions.

The ongoing heatwave is putting pressure on power supplies in Luzon, the country’s primary island, which contributes three-quarters of the nation’s economic output. According to the Philippines’ grid operator, 13 power plants have gone offline, reducing reserves.

In response to a forecast of record-high heat indices, the Philippines’ Ministry of Education has instructed public schools to transition to online learning.

Rising temperatures in Indonesia have led to a significant increase in dengue fever cases. Last month, reported cases jumped to 35,000, a sharp rise from 15,000 the previous year.