By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
More floating assets are needed in Cagayan Valley to expedite the search and rescue operations in areas hit by massive flooding that worsened following the release of water from Magat Dam during the onslaught of typhoon “Ulysses,” a civil defense official disclosed Saturday.
Ronald Villa, operations chief of the Office of Civil Defense in Cagayan Valley (OCD-2), said their SAR teams have been working round-the-clock to respond to requests for rescue from individuals who were trapped from their homes due to the continuous rise of floodwater.
“Isa sa mga priority namin ay floating assets kasi gamit na gamit na rin ‘yung different floating assets natin sa mga local government units. Karamihan ng local government units namin affected dahil ang weather disturbance namin hindi lang naman nagsimula kay Ulysses, tuluy-tuloy na ito since typhoon Nika tapos Pepito at super typhoon Rolly,” Villa said.
“Massive flooding po particularly in Tuguegarao na malaki po ang epekto ng baha. Sa Isabela po ay may response operations din po,” Villa, who was at the OCD Operations Center in Tuguegarao City, added.
#CagayanValleyNeedsHelp trended on Twitter shortly after posts showing the effects of Ulysses in the region circulated in social media.
WHAT CAUSED FLOODS
The flooding supposedly worsened when Magat Dam was forced to open its seven gates to release water after it reached its spilling level.
However, the number of gates releasing excess water from Magat Dam has been reduced amid the slow recession of water level in the middle and lower Cagayan River Saturday.
Based on the monitoring of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, the number of gates spilling excess water from the Magat Dam reservoir was reduced to two gates from seven gates. Each gate has an opening of four meters, discharging 5,073 cubic meters per second of water.
Magat Dam’s water level remains near the 193-meter spilling level at 192.18 meters as of 9 a.m. Saturday but it is slightly lower than the 192.70 meters Friday morning.
ENOUGH MANPOWER
Villa assured that the OCD have enough manpower to respond to the calls of trapped residents. He, however, could not give the exact number of personnel they deployed for SAR operations as of this writing.
“Sa ngayon we have enough manpower in terms of rescue from LGUs. Kumpleto naman ‘yan bawat LGUs ay mayroon kaming response teams,” he said.
Responders from national agencies, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, and Bureau of Fire Protection, also deployed some personnel to augment the OCD’s force, he noted.
Vice President Leni Robredo coordinated with various teams of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help trapped residents.
The situation in Cagayan kept Robredo up until the wee hours Saturday to monitor the rescue operations.
In a Twitter post, Robredo said she had been assured Marine rescue teams were on their way to respond to those in need of evacuation from affected areas.
“Asking if possible to deploy air assets now. Waiting for feedback. Was assured Marine Rescue Teams are on their way,” she said. “AFP pursuing all means possible to conduct rescue operations,” Robredo assured after reading posts of people asking to be rescued in the province.
A total of 13, 208 families, or 47,081 individuals have been affected by the flooding in the province as of Friday.
WORST FLOODING IN TUGUEGARAO
Ulysses brought the worst flooding in Tuguegarao City in years, Mayor Jefferson Soriano said.
“First time po ito nangyari sa amin. The last time we had this is in 1972 pa po. Ngayon po ang pinaka malaking flooding sa amin sa siyudad since 1972,” Soriano said.
Soriano said 39 out of the 49 barangays in Tuguegarao were submerged in deep flood water.
The mayor said the city was heavily inundated because it is the catch basin of the waters coming from Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Magat Dam in Isabela.
WEATHER FORECAST
Cagayan and Isabela may experience isolated light rains due to the northeast monsoon or “amihan” in the next 24 hours.
PAGASA said the amihan may bring isolated light rains over Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Apayao, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
The tail-end of cold front or the boundary between the cold northeast monsoon and warm easterly winds may also bring scattered moderate to at times heavy rains and thunderstorms over Batanes.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers due to localized thunderstorms.
PAGASA advised that possible floods or landslide may occur during severe thunderstorms.
P5.9-B INFRA DAMAGE
The Department of Public Works and Highways reported that damage caused by Ulysses to infrastructure is P5.914 billion as of Saturday.
Close to 30 road sections in Cagayan Valley became impassable Saturday due to massive flooding.
Twenty-nine road sections in Cagayan and Isabela were impassable due to flooding and some of them sustained damage due to the impact of flood waters and landslides, the department said.
“Also, water level at the Cagayan River is extremely high and is still rising,” the DPWH Region 2 said.
