SAN PABLO CITY —Dry land has disappeared in hundreds of villages swallowed by Laguna Lake, making these uninhabitable for more than 700,000 people in Laguna province. The floods came, and never left, with the water level in the lake rising by at least 10 feet (the height of an average house), according to a report from the Laguna Lake Development Authority. Hundreds of lakeshore villages in the towns of Mabitac, Pakil, Siniloan, Pangil, Paete, Kalayaan, Lumban, Sta. Cruz, Pila, Victoria, Calauan, Bay, Los Baños, Cabuyao, Biñan and San Pedro, and the cities of Calamba and Sta. Rosa virtually “disappeared” from the map. Some villages in the towns of Pagsanjan and Sta. Maria were also flooded. Floodwaters in these towns and cities were several feet deep. More than a week after the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana), the flood has not subsided in these lakeshore villages. The social welfare officer of Laguna said in his Oct. 4 report to the Social Action ...