The North Luzon Expressway's (NLEX) disaster preparedness was put to the test as Typhoon Ondoy battered Metro Manila two weeks ago, and company officials noted that overall, the situation was handled very well.

NLEX builder and concessionaire Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) reported zero casualty despite the growing number of vehicles that either stalled or were disallowed to continue their trip on account of rising floodwaters in some portions of the 84-kilometer toll way linking Balintawak in Caloocan City and Sta. Ines in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

NLEX officials said their experience in recent days brought out the best in their people who gallantly manned the frontlines in providing critical information to motorists, and rendering public service unmindful of their own safety. Many of them stayed at their posts for 24 hours or more.

"In times of crisis, we simply expand the scope of our mandate as a public service provider to cover the critical aspects of disaster management�rescue and restoration, rehabilitation, and relief. Hand-in-hand with our sister companies like Smart telecommunications and government partners, MNTC finds itself in a uniquely strategic position to carry out large-scale public assistance empowered by the synergies of its partnerships," said Ramoncito Fernandez, president of both the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MNTC), holding company of MNTC and NLEX operator Tollways Management Corp. (TMC).

MNTC president Rodrigo Franco noted that Ondoy was the worst natural disaster NLEX has experienced in recent years, adding that the typhoon unleashed waist deep floodwaters with strong currents at the Balintawak area and the NLEX interchanges in Valenzuela, Meycauayan, Marilao, and Bocaue, trapping vehicles in-between.

The seemingly interminable wait for the water to subside compelled not a few commuters to walk part of the way in a brave attempt to get home as soon as possible, while NLEX disaster response teams distributed biscuits and bottled water to help mitigate the woes of stranded motorists and passengers.

The teams also helped motorists negotiate the flooded portions of the NLEX to the safety of higher ground, and did errands like buying food and drinking water for the hungry and the thirsty.

One team assisted the elements of the Valenzuela fire brigade in rescuing passengers of a bus stalled near the Valenzuela Interchange. A crane was dispatched to Marilao where some people were imperiled by the flood.

To avoid situations where people trapped by the floods at the NLEX have to be extricated, MNTC immediately activates a protocol starting with early warning devices informing the motoring public when certain stretches of the toll way become constricted, unsafe or flooded. Advisories played a critical role as they were disseminated to a broad base of the public through our communications system and other network of government linkages.

The NLEX officials and their employees also closely monitored regular bulletins and advisories from pertinent government agencies, citing as example the swelling of the Angat River.